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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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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 · bay · capital · roll · branch · patient · press · cell

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. press — a publisher
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. press — to push
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. roll — a list
  8. press — newspapers
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. face — to point toward
  12. capital — a city
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. capital — money
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. face — part of the head
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cell — a phone
  21. face — to confront
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. cell — in biology
  24. branch — a division

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