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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — newspapers
  5. rash — hasty
  6. press — to push
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. last — finally
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. last — final
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bore — to drill
  18. rash — a series
  19. hand — help
  20. fall — the season
  21. perch — the fish
  22. last — to go on
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bore — to tire

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