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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. spell — magic
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — part of the head
  5. cold — an illness
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. lean — thin
  9. spell — letters
  10. press — to push
  11. lie — to recline
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. spell — a short time
  20. face — to point toward
  21. press — newspapers
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wind — moving air

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