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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: face · net · track · ground · season · staff · wind · chair

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. staff — employees
  3. ground — a position
  4. net — in sport
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. track — a path
  8. track — to keep track
  9. ground — crushed
  10. staff — a stick
  11. season — of the year
  12. net — after costs
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. wind — moving air
  15. face — to confront
  16. wind — moving air
  17. staff — employees
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. ground — the earth
  21. chair — a leader
  22. season — in sport
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. net — for catching

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