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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cap — a lid
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. press — to push
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. present — a gift
  12. press — a publisher
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. present — there
  17. field — a subject
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. press — newspapers
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. face — to confront
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. present — the time now

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