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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. scale — size or range
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — to confront
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. row — to paddle
  7. dip — to sink
  8. press — a publisher
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. chest — a box
  11. press — to push
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. season — of the year
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. season — in sport
  18. press — newspapers
  19. scale — in music
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. face — to point toward
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. face — part of the head

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