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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: rule · spring · bulb · ball · kick · chair · arm · face

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. kick — in football
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — part of the head
  5. spring — the season
  6. rule — a law
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. ball — a dance
  9. spring — of water
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. ball — a great time
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bulb — for light
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bulb — for light
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. rule — government
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. rule — to rule out
  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