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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — to sink
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. press — to push
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bound — certain
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bark — to shout
  20. press — newspapers
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bound — tied together
  23. press — a publisher
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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