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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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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: face · ball · cell · bat · patient · press · key · arm

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. key — for a lock
  3. press — a publisher
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. press — to push
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. ball — a great time
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. press — newspapers
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cell — in biology
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. key — the most important part
  19. ball — a dance
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. key — in music

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