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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. clip — a video
  4. squash — the sport
  5. vault — a safe
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. press — to push
  8. clip — for paper
  9. press — a publisher
  10. row — a line
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. press — newspapers
  13. clip — to cut
  14. face — part of the head
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. stock — goods
  17. squash — to crush
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — shares
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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