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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — a series
  4. spring — of water
  5. rest — what's left
  6. face — to point toward
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rest — what's left
  11. mine — for digging
  12. face — part of the head
  13. press — newspapers
  14. rest — a break
  15. rash — hasty
  16. chair — a leader
  17. press — a publisher
  18. face — to confront
  19. shower — rain
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. shower — to wash
  22. spring — a coil
  23. press — to push
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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