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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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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: face · press · wake · cell · staff · chest · snap · dip

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. cell — in biology
  3. staff — employees
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. face — part of the head
  8. snap — to click
  9. staff — a stick
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. staff — employees
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. face — to confront
  15. dip — to sink
  16. wake — a trail
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. press — to push
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. face — to point toward
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cell — a phone
  23. press — a publisher
  24. chest — of your body

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