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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. press — a publisher
  4. object — a thing
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spell — a short time
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spell — letters
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. spell — magic
  13. mark — a grade
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. press — to push
  17. toast — bread
  18. object — to protest
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cell — a phone
  22. object — an aim
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cell — in biology

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