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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. mate — a friend
  3. press — a publisher
  4. mate — a partner
  5. can — a tin
  6. mate — to breed
  7. scale — size or range
  8. lean — to bend
  9. can — a tin
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. press — newspapers
  13. rest — a break
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. scale — in music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. can — to be able to
  21. lean — thin
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. spell — a short time

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