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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. last — finally
  3. press — a publisher
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. last — to go on
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bound — tied together
  9. cell — a phone
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. last — final
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bound — certain
  23. prune — to trim
  24. content — videos and posts

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