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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. face — to point toward
  5. land — to come down
  6. squash — to crush
  7. present — a gift
  8. squash — the sport
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. chair — a leader
  15. present — there
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. sharp — clever
  20. face — part of the head
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. present — the time now
  23. face — to confront
  24. chair — a professorship

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