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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. press — newspapers
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. pit — in a race
  11. game — wild animals
  12. root — the cause
  13. press — a publisher
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cold — not warm
  16. press — to push
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. face — part of the head
  21. root — of a word
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. root — of a plant

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