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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cell — a phone
  5. press — a publisher
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cell — in biology
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — the animal
  14. press — to push
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. face — to point toward
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. press — newspapers

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