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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. last — finally
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pop — soda
  7. hand — help
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bark — to shout
  14. press — to push
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. last — to go on
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. last — final
  24. mine — an explosive

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