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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. press — to push
  5. last — to go on
  6. content — happy
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — a thing
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. press — newspapers
  12. march — music
  13. press — a publisher
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. last — finally
  20. wound — an injury
  21. last — final
  22. march — the month
  23. foot — a measure
  24. fan — a supporter

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