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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  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 — before a funeral
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cell — a phone
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cell — in biology
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cue — for pool
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cue — a signal
  20. sharp — clever
  21. press — a publisher
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. press — to push
  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