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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. mate — a friend
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bear — the animal
  9. court — of law
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. press — a publisher
  13. court — for sport
  14. mate — to breed
  15. press — to push
  16. face — part of the head
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wind — moving air
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. press — newspapers
  22. court — of a king
  23. face — to point toward
  24. pound — for dogs

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