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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. press — a publisher
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pound — a weight
  10. content — happy
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. content — the amount
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. rash — a series
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. rash — hasty
  22. press — newspapers
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. wound — an injury

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