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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. press — to push
  4. face — to point toward
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. date — the fruit
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. face — to confront
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. branch — a division
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wound — an injury
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. press — newspapers
  22. wake — a trail
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wound — an injury

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