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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. track — to keep track
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bound — obliged
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. drill — a practice
  9. press — a publisher
  10. track — a path
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bound — tied together
  16. mine — for digging
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. press — newspapers
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. bound — certain
  22. net — after costs
  23. track — a song
  24. ruler — for measuring

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