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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cell — a phone
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. foot — a measure
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rash — hasty
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. cell — in biology
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — to push
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. rash — a series
  23. mark — to pay attention
  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