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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 words: he'll be late again.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. press — newspapers
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. fall — the season
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. kick — in football
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mate — to breed
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. tube — the underground
  20. mark — a trace
  21. tube — a container
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — to push
  24. kick — with a leg

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