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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wake — a trail
  8. spell — letters
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — a container
  18. spell — a short time
  19. press — to push
  20. present — there
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spell — magic
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bat — in an idiom

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