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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: face · mine · pitcher · chair · wind · last · ball · foot

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — final
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. face — to confront
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. last — to go on
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. foot — a measure
  14. ball — a great time
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. mine — for digging
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. ball — a dance
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. last — finally
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chair — a professorship

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