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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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468
Word bank
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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cell — a phone
  3. press — to push
  4. tube — a container
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pop — to visit
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. ball — a dance
  11. dip — to sink
  12. ball — a great time
  13. tube — the underground
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. press — newspapers
  16. pop — music
  17. press — a publisher
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pop — soda
  20. cell — in biology
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. ball — a round shape

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