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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. fall — the season
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. press — newspapers
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wind — moving air
  9. face — to point toward
  10. fall — to drop
  11. face — to confront
  12. pitch — completely
  13. fall — to drop
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. press — to push
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. face — part of the head
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wind — to turn a key

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