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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: face · clip · mate · arm · rest · toast · wind · press

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. toast — bread
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. mate — a friend
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. press — newspapers
  10. mate — to breed
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. clip — for paper
  13. face — part of the head
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. rest — a break
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — to cut
  18. face — to point toward
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. face — to confront
  21. wind — moving air
  22. clip — a video
  23. rest — what's left
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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