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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bound — obliged
  3. cap — a hat
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cap — of ice
  6. march — the month
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bound — certain
  9. march — the month
  10. last — final
  11. march — music
  12. chest — a box
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bound — tied together
  19. press — to push
  20. row — a line
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cap — a lid
  23. press — newspapers
  24. last — finally

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