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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. last — final
  3. vault — a safe
  4. wound — an injury
  5. march — the month
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mine — for digging
  11. march — the month
  12. row — a line
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. row — to paddle
  15. press — a publisher
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. press — newspapers
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. march — music
  24. mine — an explosive

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