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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. content — happy
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. snap — to click
  5. ball — a great time
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. content — the amount
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pass — a permit
  12. last — finally
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. field — a subject
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. field — for sport
  18. last — to go on
  19. field — farmland
  20. ball — a dance
  21. press — a publisher
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. press — to push
  24. hide — animal skin

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