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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. last — final
  4. mine — for digging
  5. last — finally
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bear — the animal
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. lie — to recline
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bear — the animal
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — to push
  19. face — to point toward
  20. kick — in football
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. last — to go on
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mine — belonging to me

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