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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. stand — to bear
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. press — to push
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. press — a publisher
  10. club — for dancing
  11. press — newspapers
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. cell — a phone
  16. snap — to click
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cell — in biology

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