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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. wound — an injury
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. key — the most important part
  7. date — the fruit
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. key — in music
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. saw — the tool
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — to push
  17. press — newspapers
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. coach — a trainer

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