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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. face — part of the head
  7. wake — a trail
  8. content — the amount
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. content — happy
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — a grade
  15. branch — a division
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — to confront
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. lash — an eyelash

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