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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 120 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. press — to push
  3. rock — music
  4. fall — the season
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. press — newspapers
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rash — a series
  9. foot — a measure
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fall — to drop
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. press — a publisher
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. rash — hasty
  23. fall — to drop
  24. rock — a stone

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