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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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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: saw · season · clip · rest · face · press

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. 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. face — to point toward
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. clip — for paper
  5. season — in sport
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — newspapers
  8. rest — what's left
  9. clip — a video
  10. face — to confront
  11. clip — to cut
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rest — what's left
  14. press — to push
  15. season — of the year
  16. rest — a break
  17. saw — the tool
  18. 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