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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 116 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. press — a publisher
  3. face — to confront
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. wound — an injury
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. press — to push
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. face — to point toward
  11. rule — government
  12. race — humankind
  13. rule — a law
  14. wound — an injury
  15. snap — to click
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. press — newspapers
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — a horse colour

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