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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 120 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 locked up in a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — in biology
  3. land — a country
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. dip — to sink
  6. object — to protest
  7. cell — a phone
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. squash — to crush
  10. last — finally
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. object — an aim
  13. land — to come down
  14. press — to push
  15. last — to go on
  16. squash — the sport
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers
  19. last — final
  20. object — a thing
  21. land — ground
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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