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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 120 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wind — moving air
  8. race — a contest
  9. face — part of the head
  10. chair — a leader
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. race — humankind
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — a stone
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. season — in sport
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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