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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: tear · wind · season · press · mine · root · face · vault

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. press — to push
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. press — a publisher
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. press — newspapers
  11. face — to confront
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. root — of a word
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tear — to rip
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. vault — a safe
  24. root — the cause

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