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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. press — a publisher
  6. present — the time now
  7. kid — child
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rock — music
  11. cell — in biology
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. present — there
  15. cell — a phone
  16. press — newspapers
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. wound — an injury
  21. present — a gift
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lie — to recline
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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