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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. spring — of water
  4. rash — a series
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. branch — a division
  7. club — for golf
  8. face — part of the head
  9. chair — a leader
  10. club — for dancing
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rash — hasty
  13. board — to get on
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. face — to confront
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. board — a committee
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. club — a group
  23. spring — the season
  24. branch — of a tree

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