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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. key — for a lock
  3. pound — a weight
  4. snap — to click
  5. mine — for digging
  6. press — to push
  7. ball — a dance
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. last — to go on
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. ball — a great time
  13. rash — hasty
  14. key — in music
  15. rash — a series
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. last — finally
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. last — final
  22. key — the most important part
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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