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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. press — a publisher
  5. chest — a box
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. press — to push
  8. cell — a phone
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. press — newspapers
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. row — a line
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cell — in biology
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pass — a permit
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. row — to paddle

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