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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. cue — a signal
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. press — to push
  9. charge — a price
  10. kick — in football
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. charge — in control
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. stem — to come from
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pound — a weight
  24. cue — for pool

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