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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. face — to confront
  3. game — a match
  4. press — a publisher
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. court — for sport
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fall — to drop
  10. game — wild animals
  11. court — of a king
  12. wound — an injury
  13. press — to push
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. dip — to sink
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wound — an injury
  18. face — part of the head
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. face — to point toward
  21. court — of law
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — a sauce

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