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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cue — a hint
  6. press — to push
  7. mate — a friend
  8. cue — a signal
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. scale — size or range
  13. mate — a partner
  14. season — of the year
  15. scale — in music
  16. branch — a division
  17. cue — for pool
  18. snap — to click
  19. mate — to breed
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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