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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rest — a break
  3. scale — size or range
  4. press — a publisher
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. press — to push
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spell — letters
  10. rest — what's left
  11. spell — magic
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. press — newspapers
  16. snap — to click
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — 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