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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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Word bank
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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. fine — high quality
  3. press — to push
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. press — newspapers
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bound — certain
  17. press — a publisher
  18. snap — to click
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. cue — for pool
  22. fine — all right
  23. sharp — clever
  24. cue — a signal

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