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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. tear — to rip
  7. root — the cause
  8. face — part of the head
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chair — a leader
  11. press — a publisher
  12. root — of a plant
  13. mark — a grade
  14. swing — in golf
  15. root — of a word
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. press — newspapers
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. swing — to play on
  22. press — to push
  23. swing — music
  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