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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — a publisher
  3. content — happy
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. press — newspapers
  7. spring — a coil
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. branch — a division
  11. stand — to bear
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. suit — clothes
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. kid — to tease
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. spring — the season
  18. suit — in cards
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. spring — of water
  21. rash — a series
  22. suit — to fit
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. kid — child

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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