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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bound — certain
  3. charge — electricity
  4. chest — of your body
  5. press — a publisher
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. chest — a box
  12. charge — a price
  13. ground — a position
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. bound — tied together
  17. press — to push
  18. press — newspapers
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bound — obliged
  22. charge — in control
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. tear — from crying

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