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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. face — part of the head
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. press — newspapers
  6. content — happy
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — the amount
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. press — to push
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wind — moving air
  19. press — a publisher
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wave — of the sea

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