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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. season — in sport
  4. content — the amount
  5. rest — what's left
  6. press — a publisher
  7. toast — bread
  8. content — happy
  9. cold — an illness
  10. drill — the tool
  11. press — to push
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. season — of the year
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mark — a trace
  17. drill — a practice
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. mark — a grade
  24. press — newspapers

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