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

Word bank: face · leaves · deal · chair · chest · field · rule · craft

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. face — to confront
  3. field — for sport
  4. deal — to handle
  5. chest — of your body
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. face — to point toward
  9. craft — boats
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. field — farmland
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. craft — a skill
  14. chest — a box
  15. rule — a law
  16. chest — of your body
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. field — a subject
  19. rule — government
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. face — part of the head
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. rule — to rule out

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