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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 120 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. root — of a word
  3. swing — music
  4. press — a publisher
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. face — to point toward
  9. staff — employees
  10. root — the cause
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. press — to push
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. swing — in golf
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. face — part of the head
  20. swing — to play on
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. press — newspapers
  23. root — of a plant
  24. kick — in football

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