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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. squash — to crush
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. face — to confront
  5. last — finally
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. last — to go on
  10. press — to push
  11. field — farmland
  12. face — to point toward
  13. mark — a grade
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. squash — the sport
  16. face — part of the head
  17. lie — to recline
  18. mark — a trace
  19. last — final
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. press — newspapers
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. dip — to sink

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