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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 120 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 · bat · face · bay · cell · mate

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. face — to confront
  7. mate — to breed
  8. press — a publisher
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. cell — in a prison

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