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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cell — in biology
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — army training
  9. cell — a phone
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. fall — to drop
  13. drill — the tool
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fall — the season
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cell — in a prison

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