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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mate — a friend
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. can — a tin
  6. press — newspapers
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cold — an illness
  9. field — farmland
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. row — to paddle
  12. press — a publisher
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. row — a line
  15. mate — to breed
  16. press — to push
  17. face — part of the head
  18. can — a tin
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. can — to be able to
  21. field — for sport
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cold — not warm
  24. field — a subject

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