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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — newspapers
  3. saw — the tool
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cell — in biology
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. saw — the tool
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. press — a publisher
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. cold — an illness
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a skill
  24. bat — the animal

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