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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. content — the amount
  7. season — of the year
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. press — a publisher
  10. face — part of the head
  11. last — final
  12. rule — a law
  13. last — finally
  14. rule — government
  15. press — newspapers
  16. content — happy
  17. last — to go on
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. face — to confront
  20. season — in sport
  21. press — to push
  22. face — to point toward
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. temple — side of the head

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