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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. press — a publisher
  3. club — for dancing
  4. scale — in music
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. rash — hasty
  8. last — to go on
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. cue — for pool
  12. club — a group
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cue — a signal
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. press — to push
  19. rash — a series
  20. cell — a phone
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cue — a hint
  23. press — newspapers
  24. club — for golf

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