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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 116 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: chair · present · drill · scale · rush · race · face · court

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. present — the time now
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. scale — in music
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. face — part of the head
  8. drill — army training
  9. present — a gift
  10. chair — a leader
  11. present — there
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. race — the arms race
  15. scale — size or range
  16. court — of law
  17. rush — hurry
  18. face — to point toward
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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