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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. capital — a city
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. press — a publisher
  14. face — part of the head
  15. press — newspapers
  16. capital — money
  17. press — to push
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. face — to confront
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — a permit

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