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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: bulb · present · hand · press · deal · face · last · capital

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bulb — for light
  3. face — part of the head
  4. press — a publisher
  5. face — to confront
  6. hand — in cards
  7. capital — a city
  8. face — to point toward
  9. last — finally
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. press — to push
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. present — there
  15. last — to go on
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. press — newspapers
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. present — the time now
  20. bulb — for light
  21. last — final
  22. capital — money
  23. present — a gift
  24. deal — to handle

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