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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. swing — to play on
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. cell — a phone
  5. swing — music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. last — final
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. press — newspapers
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rash — a series
  16. press — a publisher
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. swing — in golf
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cell — in biology
  21. press — to push
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. rash — hasty
  24. last — to go on

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