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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. press — a publisher
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pop — to visit
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pop — music
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. stem — to come from
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. snap — to click
  17. content — the amount
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. press — to push
  20. content — happy
  21. press — newspapers
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. wound — an injury

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