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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. court — of a king
  7. ground — a position
  8. perch — the fish
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. face — to point toward
  12. press — newspapers
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. court — for sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. face — to confront
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. court — of law
  19. tube — a container
  20. press — to push
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. squash — the sport
  24. tube — the underground

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