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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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. season — in sport
  4. perch — the fish
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. face — to point toward
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kick — in football
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. staff — a stick
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. face — to confront
  19. staff — employees
  20. press — a publisher
  21. staff — employees
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bat — the animal
  24. press — newspapers

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