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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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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: bay · chair · staff · tear · face · march · spell · pitch

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. march — the month
  3. face — to confront
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. staff — a stick
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. staff — employees
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. spell — letters
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. face — part of the head
  17. march — music
  18. staff — employees
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. pitch — completely
  21. face — to point toward
  22. march — the month
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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