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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cue — for pool
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. press — to push
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cue — a hint
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. saw — the tool
  12. press — a publisher
  13. rash — a series
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cell — in biology
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cue — a signal
  18. rash — hasty

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