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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: band · suit · bay · mate · hand · face · press · cold

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. suit — to fit
  3. suit — clothes
  4. press — to push
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. press — newspapers
  9. face — to confront
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. face — part of the head
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. band — a music group
  18. press — a publisher
  19. cold — not warm
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cold — an illness
  22. hand — help
  23. suit — in cards
  24. band — a ring

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