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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: firm · tube · press · face · season · wake · ground · nail

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. season — in sport
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. firm — steady
  5. tube — a container
  6. season — of the year
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. firm — a company
  9. press — a publisher
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. face — to point toward
  12. tube — the underground
  13. ground — a position
  14. press — newspapers
  15. face — part of the head
  16. firm — decided
  17. face — to confront
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wake — a trail

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