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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. rash — a series
  6. chair — a leader
  7. snap — to click
  8. rash — hasty
  9. object — an aim
  10. pitch — completely
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. cell — a phone
  16. press — newspapers
  17. object — to protest
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cell — in biology
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. object — a thing
  24. mate — to breed

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