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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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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: ground · hide · race · face · staff · mug · chair · arm

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — to rob
  4. ground — a position
  5. face — part of the head
  6. staff — employees
  7. face — to point toward
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. face — to confront
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ground — the earth
  15. mug — a cup
  16. race — a contest
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. staff — a stick
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. chair — a leader
  21. ground — crushed
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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