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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.

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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. mine — for digging
  3. field — a subject
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rule — government
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. face — part of the head
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. field — farmland
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. press — newspapers
  13. face — to point toward
  14. field — for sport
  15. rule — a law
  16. press — to push
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. face — to confront

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