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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. pop — soda
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. press — to push
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pop — music
  11. row — to paddle
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. row — a line
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cold — not warm
  17. saw — the tool
  18. press — newspapers
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — to visit
  21. rest — a break
  22. cold — an illness
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. rest — what's left

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