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

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. track — to keep track
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. face — to point toward
  5. press — to push
  6. content — the amount
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. face — to confront
  11. press — newspapers
  12. face — part of the head
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. band — a music group
  16. content — happy
  17. press — a publisher
  18. band — a ring

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