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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. press — a publisher
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mug — a face
  5. net — for catching
  6. face — part of the head
  7. mug — to rob
  8. ground — a position
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. press — to push
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. net — after costs
  17. band — a music group
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. face — to confront
  20. ground — crushed
  21. band — a ring
  22. net — in sport
  23. press — newspapers
  24. mug — a cup

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