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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. face — part of the head
  3. net — for catching
  4. press — a publisher
  5. net — in sport
  6. march — music
  7. race — a contest
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. net — after costs
  13. fall — the season
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. face — to confront
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. press — newspapers
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pound — a weight
  20. march — the month
  21. fall — to drop
  22. march — the month
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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