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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. march — the month
  4. firm — a company
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. firm — steady
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. row — a line
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. cell — a phone
  12. march — the month
  13. press — to push
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. clip — to cut
  17. firm — decided
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. clip — for paper
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. march — music
  23. clip — a video
  24. rash — a series

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