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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pop — soda
  3. bark — to shout
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. content — the amount
  10. press — to push
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. press — newspapers
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cell — a phone
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. rest — a break
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. rest — what's left
  22. content — happy
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pop — music

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