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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · cell · net · rule · perch · face

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. net — after costs
  3. press — to push
  4. rule — a law
  5. press — a publisher
  6. net — for catching
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. cell — in biology
  9. net — in sport
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. face — to confront
  12. press — newspapers
  13. face — to point toward
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rule — government
  16. cell — a phone
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird

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