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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. snap — to click
  3. march — the month
  4. chest — of your body
  5. press — to push
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. press — newspapers
  9. track — a path
  10. chest — a box
  11. press — a publisher
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. march — the month
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. track — a song
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bear — the animal
  19. track — to keep track
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. chest — of your body
  23. march — music
  24. bear — the animal

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