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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: cabinet · row · chair · mark · face · deal · season · pitcher

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. mark — a trace
  7. chair — a leader
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. mark — a grade
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. deal — to handle
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. face — to confront
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. face — to point toward
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. cabinet — ministers

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