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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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. mine — an explosive
  4. track — a song
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. press — a publisher
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. snap — to click
  10. content — happy
  11. track — a path
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. race — a contest
  14. content — the amount
  15. track — to keep track
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. press — newspapers
  21. mine — for digging
  22. season — of the year
  23. race — humankind
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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