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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. face — to point toward
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. face — to confront
  7. mine — for digging
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. face — part of the head
  17. press — to push
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. capital — a city
  20. press — newspapers
  21. foot — a measure
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. capital — money
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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