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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wind — moving air
  3. track — a path
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. press — a publisher
  6. track — a song
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. press — to push
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — in football
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. track — to keep track
  20. kid — child
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. face — to confront
  23. press — newspapers
  24. fall — the season

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