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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. net — in sport
  3. face — to point toward
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. club — for golf
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rash — hasty
  8. chest — a box
  9. rush — hurry
  10. spell — magic
  11. net — after costs
  12. spell — letters
  13. chest — of your body
  14. club — a group
  15. net — for catching
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. club — for dancing
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. rash — a series
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. spell — a short time
  24. chest — of your body

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