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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: coach · leaves · press · face · last · mug · clip · net

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. last — final
  3. press — a publisher
  4. last — to go on
  5. press — to push
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mug — to rob
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mug — a face
  13. clip — to cut
  14. net — after costs
  15. face — part of the head
  16. net — in sport
  17. last — finally
  18. net — for catching
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. press — newspapers
  21. face — to confront
  22. mug — a cup
  23. face — to point toward
  24. leaves — to go away

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