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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mate — a friend
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. face — part of the head
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. mate — to breed
  11. face — to confront
  12. bark — to shout
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. saw — the tool
  19. deal — to handle
  20. wind — moving air
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. mate — a partner
  23. face — to point toward
  24. chair — a leader

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