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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: pit · spring · face · mug · deal · fall · chair · stick

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — to rob
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. face — to point toward
  7. spring — a coil
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. fall — the season
  11. pit — a hole
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spring — the season
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. spring — of water
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. pit — in a race

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