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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. chest — of your body
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. rash — a series
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. chest — a box
  18. press — a publisher
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. press — to push
  24. press — newspapers

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