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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. face — to confront
  3. staff — a stick
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. sharp — clever
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. charge — a price
  9. face — to point toward
  10. charge — electricity
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. tear — to rip
  14. face — part of the head
  15. tear — from crying
  16. staff — employees
  17. charge — in control
  18. staff — employees
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. chair — a leader
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — exactly

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com