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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 · bound · spell · drill · racket · row · mate · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. face — part of the head
  4. spell — letters
  5. face — to confront
  6. drill — the tool
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. row — a line
  9. bound — certain
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mate — a partner
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bound — tied together
  15. press — to push
  16. bound — obliged
  17. drill — a practice
  18. spell — magic
  19. mate — to breed
  20. drill — army training
  21. press — newspapers
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. mate — a friend
  24. spell — a short time

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