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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: board · face · file · mug · press · cabinet · straw · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — a cup
  4. file — a line of people
  5. mug — to rob
  6. press — to push
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — to get on
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — part of the head
  14. press — a publisher
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. season — in sport
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. season — of the year
  20. file — a tool
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. board — a committee
  24. file — a document

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