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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. wound — an injury
  3. present — a gift
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. deal — to handle
  6. present — the time now
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. present — there
  12. mine — for digging
  13. tube — a container
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. cell — a phone
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — of a tree

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