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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. cold — an illness
  3. key — in music
  4. key — the most important part
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. press — a publisher
  12. court — of law
  13. press — to push
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. lean — thin
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cold — not warm
  18. content — the amount
  19. key — for a lock
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. content — happy
  24. press — newspapers

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