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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. mark — a trace
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wake — a trail
  7. cell — in biology
  8. press — newspapers
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bark — to shout
  11. capital — money
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mine — for digging
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. press — a publisher
  20. capital — a city
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — soda
  23. mark — a grade
  24. press — to push

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