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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. press — to push
  4. last — final
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. last — to go on
  8. press — newspapers
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. game — a match
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. last — finally
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. stem — to come from
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. press — a publisher
  24. hand — in cards

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