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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — to bend
  3. scale — size or range
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. scale — in music
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. wake — a trail
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. lean — thin
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. fall — the season
  18. bass — low music
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — the fish
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. press — a publisher

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