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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bank — for money
  7. key — in music
  8. press — newspapers
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. key — for a lock
  14. press — to push
  15. content — the amount
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bank — of a river
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. key — the most important part
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bank — for money

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