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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. press — a publisher
  3. march — the month
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. can — to be able to
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. rest — a break
  10. band — a ring
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. band — a music group
  15. rest — what's left
  16. face — to point toward
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. fine — all right
  20. rest — what's left
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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