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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. press — to push
  3. pop — to visit
  4. fall — to drop
  5. march — the month
  6. key — the most important part
  7. pop — music
  8. content — happy
  9. last — final
  10. key — in music
  11. march — the month
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. key — for a lock
  14. march — music
  15. last — finally
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pop — soda
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. press — newspapers
  22. content — the amount
  23. press — a publisher
  24. toast — bread

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