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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cap — of ice
  3. mine — for digging
  4. chair — a leader
  5. face — to confront
  6. file — a document
  7. press — to push
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. file — a line of people
  11. press — a publisher
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. face — part of the head
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rule — government
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cap — a lid
  20. face — to point toward
  21. press — newspapers
  22. file — a tool
  23. rule — a law
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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