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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 120 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: rest · safe · chair · lie · mine · capital · press · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rest — what's left
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chair — a leader
  7. press — a publisher
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. face — to point toward
  11. rest — a break
  12. press — newspapers
  13. capital — a city
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. face — part of the head
  18. press — to push
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. capital — money
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rest — what's left
  23. lie — to recline
  24. chair — a professorship

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