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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. plane — a tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. game — a match
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. game — wild animals
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. face — part of the head
  16. prune — to trim
  17. lean — thin
  18. face — to confront
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. game — a kind of play

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