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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. press — newspapers
  7. pound — a weight
  8. last — finally
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cell — a phone
  11. rash — hasty
  12. last — to go on
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rash — a series
  16. last — final
  17. wake — a trail
  18. press — a publisher
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. ground — crushed
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. press — to push

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