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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. kid — child
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. face — to point toward
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pitch — completely
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. ball — a great time
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bat — the animal
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. spell — a short time
  23. ball — a dance
  24. kid — to tease

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