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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rock — music
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. fine — all right
  6. wound — an injury
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. last — finally
  9. rock — a stone
  10. press — newspapers
  11. fine — high quality
  12. stem — to come from
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. press — to push
  16. last — to go on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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