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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. fine — all right
  5. snap — to click
  6. mark — a grade
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. mate — a partner
  9. march — the month
  10. press — to push
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. march — music
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. press — newspapers
  17. chest — of your body
  18. march — the month
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mark — a trace
  21. chest — a box
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — to breed
  24. press — a publisher

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