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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 get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. track — to keep track
  3. rest — what's left
  4. track — a song
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — newspapers
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. rule — a law
  11. rest — a break
  12. rule — government
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. present — the time now
  17. press — to push
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. track — a path
  20. rest — what's left
  21. present — there
  22. bat — the animal
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bat — in an idiom

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