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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. press — to push
  3. rest — what's left
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bound — certain
  6. content — happy
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. press — newspapers
  9. last — to go on
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. bound — obliged
  13. rest — a break
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. press — a publisher
  19. bound — tied together
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. last — final

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