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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. fine — all right
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. root — of a word
  6. press — to push
  7. present — a gift
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. present — there
  10. present — the time now
  11. face — part of the head
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. face — to confront
  16. fine — high quality
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. press — newspapers
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. press — a publisher
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. spring — the season

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