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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. press — to push
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. face — to confront
  5. game — wild animals
  6. land — a country
  7. press — a publisher
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. game — a match
  10. land — ground
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bound — obliged
  14. ball — a dance
  15. land — to come down
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. ball — a great time
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bound — tied together
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bound — certain
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. face — to point toward

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