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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. scale — in music
  3. ball — a dance
  4. press — newspapers
  5. lie — to recline
  6. press — a publisher
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. press — to push
  9. cell — in biology
  10. content — the amount
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. ball — a great time
  13. hand — help
  14. content — happy
  15. hand — in cards
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. scale — size or range
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. row — to paddle
  24. lie — an untruth

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