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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bear — the animal
  3. press — to push
  4. season — of the year
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. march — the month
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. face — to point toward
  9. press — a publisher
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — thin
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. court — of a king
  15. face — to confront
  16. court — for sport
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bear — the animal
  19. press — newspapers
  20. land — ground
  21. season — in sport
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. court — of law

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