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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 116 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cell — in biology
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. land — a country
  6. cell — a phone
  7. land — to come down
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. chair — a leader
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. press — to push
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. press — newspapers
  21. kick — in football
  22. wound — an injury
  23. land — ground
  24. snap — to click

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