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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: press · face · suit · cold · bay · fall · perch · temple

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. face — to point toward
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. press — to push
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. suit — to fit
  10. cold — not warm
  11. perch — the fish
  12. face — part of the head
  13. suit — clothes
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. suit — in cards
  20. cold — an illness
  21. press — a publisher
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. press — newspapers
  24. face — to confront

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