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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. stock — shares
  3. spring — the season
  4. face — to confront
  5. sharp — clever
  6. face — part of the head
  7. chest — of your body
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. press — a publisher
  12. stock — goods
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. spring — of water
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. spring — a coil
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. press — newspapers
  20. chest — a box
  21. squash — to crush
  22. press — to push
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. calf — a young animal

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