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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bat — the animal
  3. face — part of the head
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. club — a group
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. face — to point toward
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. press — a publisher
  11. club — for golf
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. firm — steady
  16. press — newspapers
  17. face — to confront
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. firm — decided
  21. press — to push
  22. club — for dancing
  23. cold — an illness
  24. firm — a company

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