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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mark — a grade
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mark — a trace
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. press — a publisher
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pop — soda
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. pop — music
  21. press — to push
  22. file — a document
  23. pop — to visit
  24. press — newspapers

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