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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — happy
  3. pass — a permit
  4. mate — to breed
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. content — the amount
  8. press — to push
  9. present — the time now
  10. kid — child
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. press — newspapers
  13. mate — a friend
  14. spring — of water
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. press — a publisher
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. present — there
  22. present — a gift
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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