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

Word bank: snap · mate · date · press · face · racket

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — to push
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. date — the fruit
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mate — a friend
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. face — part of the head
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. face — to confront
  14. mate — a partner
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. snap — to click
  17. mate — to breed
  18. press — newspapers

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