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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bore — to tire
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. snap — to click
  12. ground — a position
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. face — to point toward
  17. file — a document
  18. face — to confront
  19. chair — a leader
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. bore — to drill
  24. pit — in a race

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