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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. charge — electricity
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. press — a publisher
  5. row — to paddle
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. charge — a price
  8. clip — a video
  9. stem — to come from
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. row — a line
  13. press — newspapers
  14. ground — a position
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ground — crushed
  18. press — to push
  19. ground — the earth
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cell — in biology
  22. clip — for paper
  23. charge — in control
  24. cell — a phone

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