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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pit — in a race
  4. court — of a king
  5. rock — music
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pit — a hole
  8. face — to point toward
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. rock — a stone
  12. cold — an illness
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bound — certain
  15. court — for sport
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bound — obliged
  18. cold — not warm
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bound — tied together
  21. press — to push
  22. band — a music group
  23. court — of law
  24. band — a ring

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