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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · chair · snap · pop · spell · field · present · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. present — there
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. face — to point toward
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. rash — a series
  8. pop — soda
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. field — for sport
  11. spell — letters
  12. face — to confront
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pop — music
  17. present — the time now
  18. field — farmland
  19. present — a gift
  20. pop — to visit
  21. field — a subject
  22. face — part of the head
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. snap — to click

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