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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 120 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. press — to push
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — money
  5. craft — a skill
  6. capital — a city
  7. track — to keep track
  8. cell — in biology
  9. track — a song
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fall — the season
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. track — a path
  15. press — newspapers
  16. snap — to click
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. press — a publisher
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wave — of the sea

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