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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 124 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bat — the animal
  3. hand — help
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lean — thin
  8. hand — in cards
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. court — of law
  12. current — happening now
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. court — of a king
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. capital — a city
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. current — electric
  19. lean — to bend
  20. court — for sport
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. face — to point toward
  23. current — of water
  24. chair — a leader

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