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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. press — to push
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. tube — the underground
  5. saw — the tool
  6. last — to go on
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. press — a publisher
  10. court — for sport
  11. current — happening now
  12. mate — a partner
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — of law
  15. last — final
  16. mate — to breed
  17. current — electric
  18. tube — a container
  19. current — of water
  20. date — the fruit
  21. press — newspapers
  22. last — finally
  23. mate — a friend
  24. tube — in a tire

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