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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: wake · chair · mine · bound · bowl · cell · rush · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rush — hurry
  9. cell — a phone
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bound — obliged
  13. face — to point toward
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bound — certain
  24. bowl — a football final

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