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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cap — of ice
  4. court — of a king
  5. face — to point toward
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. root — of a plant
  8. court — of law
  9. roll — a cake
  10. court — for sport
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. face — part of the head
  13. mate — a partner
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cap — a lid
  16. root — of a word
  17. mine — for digging
  18. root — the cause
  19. chair — a leader
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cap — a hat
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. mate — to breed

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