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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: branch · face · cap · squash · mug · tear · press · cell

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. tear — from crying
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mug — a face
  6. cap — of ice
  7. press — to push
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. tear — to rip
  11. face — to confront
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cap — a hat
  14. face — part of the head
  15. cap — a lid
  16. tear — from crying
  17. squash — to crush
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. press — newspapers
  21. mug — a cup
  22. squash — the sport
  23. branch — a division
  24. face — to point toward

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