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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cell — in biology
  3. land — to come down
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. last — finally
  6. cell — a phone
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. swing — to play on
  9. lie — to recline
  10. last — to go on
  11. land — a country
  12. press — a publisher
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. press — newspapers
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. swing — music
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. press — to push
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. last — final
  24. swing — in golf

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