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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. press — to push
  3. court — of a king
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wound — an injury
  6. press — a publisher
  7. root — of a plant
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tear — from crying
  10. court — for sport
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bulb — for light
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. court — of law
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. root — the cause
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bulb — for light
  23. tear — from crying
  24. root — of a word

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