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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. charge — a price
  3. march — music
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — in control
  6. rush — hurry
  7. vault — a safe
  8. press — to push
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. press — newspapers
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. press — a publisher
  24. patient — a sick person

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