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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · field · arm · dip · game · face · prune · present

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. face — part of the head
  9. present — a gift
  10. field — farmland
  11. game — wild animals
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. chair — a leader
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. prune — to trim
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. present — the time now
  20. dip — to sink
  21. game — a match
  22. present — there
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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