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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wax — to grow
  5. face — to confront
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. press — to push
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. press — a publisher
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. press — newspapers
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — in football
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stock — goods

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