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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. face — to point toward
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. face — to confront
  7. roll — a cake
  8. mine — for digging
  9. face — part of the head
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. roll — a list
  14. press — to push
  15. shower — rain
  16. scale — size or range
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. date — the fruit
  19. scale — in music
  20. press — a publisher
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. shower — to wash
  23. press — newspapers
  24. scale — for weighing

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