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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. land — a country
  5. cell — a phone
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cell — in biology
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. chest — a box
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. land — ground
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mug — to rob
  17. wind — moving air
  18. dip — to sink
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mug — a cup
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. land — to come down
  23. press — a publisher
  24. dip — to dunk

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