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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. snap — to click
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. face — part of the head
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. wound — an injury
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rule — government
  9. wound — an injury
  10. press — to push
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. face — to confront
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. press — a publisher
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rule — a law
  22. face — to point toward
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bat — the animal

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