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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. land — a country
  3. press — a publisher
  4. net — for catching
  5. face — to point toward
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bulb — for light
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. net — in sport
  13. press — to push
  14. ground — crushed
  15. land — to come down
  16. ground — a position
  17. face — to confront
  18. net — after costs
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. ground — the earth
  21. press — newspapers
  22. land — ground
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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