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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. face — to confront
  4. race — a contest
  5. chest — a box
  6. wound — an injury
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chair — a leader
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. press — newspapers
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wound — an injury
  17. shower — rain
  18. press — a publisher
  19. race — humankind
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — part of the head
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fine — all right
  24. press — to push

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