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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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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: firm · cue · degree · lean · face · chair · bat · wound

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cue — for pool
  3. chair — a leader
  4. face — part of the head
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. degree — an amount
  10. firm — a company
  11. firm — decided
  12. lean — thin
  13. face — to confront
  14. firm — steady
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bat — in an idiom

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