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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: face · clip · trunk · chest · press · game · cell · chip

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. press — to push
  5. clip — a video
  6. game — wild animals
  7. press — a publisher
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. clip — to cut
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cell — in biology
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. face — to confront
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chest — a box
  24. game — a match

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