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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: snap · cold · mark · bound · face · press · calf · date

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. face — to confront
  3. bound — obliged
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bound — certain
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. press — to push
  10. press — a publisher
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mark — a trace
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. face — to point toward
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bound — tied together
  17. face — part of the head
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cold — an illness
  20. press — newspapers
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. date — the fruit

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