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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 124 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. rock — a stone
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rock — music
  5. press — a publisher
  6. last — final
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. cell — a phone
  13. ground — the earth
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. last — to go on
  17. ground — crushed
  18. mine — for digging
  19. last — finally
  20. press — to push
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ground — a position
  23. press — newspapers
  24. fan — to cool the air

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