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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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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — in biology
  4. press — a publisher
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cell — a phone
  7. content — happy
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — for pool
  12. content — the amount
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fine — all right
  20. cue — a signal
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. fine — high quality

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