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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. drill — a practice
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. swing — to play on
  8. drill — army training
  9. snap — to click
  10. press — a publisher
  11. drill — the tool
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. press — to push
  15. bear — the animal
  16. lean — thin
  17. swing — in golf
  18. band — a music group
  19. swing — music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bear — the animal
  24. press — newspapers

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