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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. cell — in biology
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. press — a publisher
  5. scale — in music
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. last — finally
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. press — to push
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. last — final
  13. press — newspapers
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rush — hurry
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. scale — size or range
  24. nail — on a finger

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