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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: press · ruler · field · lie · row · chair · face · kick

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. row — to paddle
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. row — a line
  14. press — newspapers
  15. chair — a leader
  16. kick — in football
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. field — farmland
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. press — a publisher
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. lie — to recline
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. press — to push

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