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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mate — to breed
  4. ground — a position
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. face — part of the head
  9. mate — a partner
  10. press — newspapers
  11. track — a path
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. track — a song
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. face — to confront
  18. ground — the earth
  19. face — to point toward
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wind — moving air
  22. press — to push
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ground — crushed

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