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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. key — in music
  3. object — an aim
  4. key — for a lock
  5. face — to confront
  6. mine — for digging
  7. face — to point toward
  8. object — to protest
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cell — a phone
  11. key — the most important part
  12. press — newspapers
  13. object — a thing
  14. cell — in biology
  15. press — to push
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. face — part of the head

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