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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. face — part of the head
  5. press — a publisher
  6. mine — for digging
  7. face — to point toward
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. cold — not warm
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. press — newspapers
  12. rush — hurry
  13. press — to push
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. perch — the fish
  16. staff — a stick
  17. face — to confront
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bat — the animal
  22. staff — employees
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. staff — employees

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