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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: press · straw · sharp · face · dip · game · tear · staff

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. game — wild animals
  3. staff — employees
  4. tear — from crying
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. press — a publisher
  8. staff — employees
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. tear — to rip
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. game — a match
  16. press — newspapers
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. dip — to sink
  19. tear — from crying
  20. face — to point toward
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. press — to push
  23. staff — a stick
  24. face — to confront

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