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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. ground — crushed
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. ground — the earth
  6. face — to confront
  7. perch — the fish
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. face — to point toward
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hand — in cards
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. vault — a safe
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. hand — help
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. face — part of the head
  20. chair — a leader
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kid — to tease
  23. ground — a position
  24. kid — child

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