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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mate — a partner
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. mate — to breed
  10. rest — a break
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. press — newspapers
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rest — what's left
  16. band — a music group
  17. press — a publisher
  18. mate — a friend
  19. band — a ring
  20. press — to push
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. fall — to drop
  24. band — a rubber band

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