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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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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — to breed
  3. foot — a measure
  4. face — to confront
  5. staff — employees
  6. suit — to fit
  7. staff — employees
  8. degree — an amount
  9. suit — in cards
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cell — in biology
  12. suit — clothes
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mate — a friend
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. face — part of the head
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cell — a phone
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. staff — a stick
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  24. face — to point toward

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