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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.

Make a worksheet

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: arm · chair · suit · season · rest · face · bat · spell

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rest — a break
  3. spell — letters
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. spell — magic
  7. suit — to fit
  8. rest — what's left
  9. suit — clothes
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — to point toward
  15. season — of the year
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spell — a short time
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. suit — in cards
  24. bat — the animal

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