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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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Word bank
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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: saw · face · key · chair · swing · hide · row · shower

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. face — part of the head
  5. key — the most important part
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. face — to confront
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. row — a line
  11. face — to point toward
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. key — for a lock
  16. swing — music
  17. shower — rain
  18. key — in music
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. saw — the tool
  22. shower — to wash
  23. chair — a leader
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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