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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · chair · board · mug · face · wind · net · cell

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cell — a phone
  4. net — in sport
  5. face — to point toward
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. mug — a cup
  10. wind — moving air
  11. face — to confront
  12. deal — to handle
  13. net — after costs
  14. board — a committee
  15. net — for catching
  16. mug — to rob
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a leader
  19. board — to get on
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mug — a face
  23. wind — moving air
  24. face — part of the head

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