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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mug — a face
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. scale — size or range
  6. press — to push
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bulb — for light
  9. face — to point toward
  10. press — newspapers
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mug — to rob
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. face — to confront
  20. scale — in music
  21. press — a publisher
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. mug — a cup
  24. face — part of the head

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