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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. press — a publisher
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. march — music
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. press — to push
  10. mark — a grade
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. march — the month
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wound — an injury
  18. press — newspapers
  19. mark — a trace
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. march — the month
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. mouse — the animal

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