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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. snap — to click
  3. present — the time now
  4. chest — of your body
  5. press — a publisher
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. mark — a grade
  9. press — to push
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. press — newspapers
  12. present — a gift
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. rest — a break
  16. present — there
  17. mark — a trace
  18. chest — of your body
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. chest — a box

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