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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mate — to breed
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. spring — of water
  6. press — newspapers
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. mate — a friend
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. game — wild animals
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. mate — a partner
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. game — a match
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spring — a coil
  21. press — a publisher
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. spring — the season

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