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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — to push
  4. face — to confront
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. face — part of the head
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. net — after costs
  11. scale — in music
  12. dip — to sink
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. face — to point toward
  15. net — in sport
  16. press — newspapers
  17. scale — size or range
  18. pass — a permit
  19. net — for catching
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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