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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bear — the animal
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bear — the animal
  8. present — there
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spell — magic
  11. net — after costs
  12. present — the time now
  13. press — newspapers
  14. spell — a short time
  15. present — a gift
  16. net — in sport
  17. game — a match
  18. press — a publisher
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. face — to confront
  22. spell — letters
  23. face — part of the head
  24. net — for catching

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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