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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. band — a music group
  3. present — a gift
  4. fall — to drop
  5. face — to confront
  6. fall — the season
  7. present — the time now
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. court — for sport
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rule — a law
  13. present — there
  14. court — of law
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. face — part of the head
  18. court — of a king
  19. content — happy
  20. band — a ring
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. press — newspapers
  23. rule — government
  24. fall — to drop

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