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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: face · lie · staff · spring · bound · pass · object · chair

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bound — certain
  5. staff — employees
  6. chair — a leader
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bound — obliged
  9. object — to protest
  10. face — to confront
  11. object — a thing
  12. staff — employees
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. staff — a stick
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. face — to point toward
  17. object — an aim
  18. lie — to recline
  19. spring — of water
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. spring — a coil
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bound — tied together
  24. spring — the season

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