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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. press — to push
  9. face — to confront
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pound — a weight
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. race — a contest
  18. press — newspapers
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. face — part of the head
  21. race — humankind
  22. press — a publisher
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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