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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cap — of ice
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mug — a face
  9. chest — a box
  10. ground — the earth
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ground — a position
  16. mug — to rob
  17. fine — high quality
  18. press — a publisher
  19. cap — a hat
  20. press — newspapers
  21. ground — crushed
  22. mug — a cup
  23. fine — all right
  24. press — to push

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