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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. saw — the tool
  3. present — a gift
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. present — the time now
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. present — there
  11. press — newspapers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pop — soda
  15. press — a publisher
  16. degree — from a university
  17. press — to push
  18. degree — temperature
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pop — music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. degree — an amount
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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