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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. hand — in cards
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. press — to push
  6. last — final
  7. ball — a great time
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. face — to confront
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. mate — to breed
  14. ball — a dance
  15. hand — help
  16. plane — a tool
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. press — newspapers
  19. face — to point toward
  20. pit — a hole
  21. last — finally
  22. pit — in a race
  23. last — to go on
  24. face — part of the head

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