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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cue — a signal
  4. press — a publisher
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. cue — a hint
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. file — a tool
  9. chip — to eat
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. file — a document
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. file — a line of people
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. stem — to come from
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. press — newspapers
  22. chip — for betting
  23. cue — for pool
  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