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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 116 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. wind — moving air
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. march — music
  5. kid — to tease
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. march — the month
  8. press — newspapers
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bound — obliged
  11. press — to push
  12. kid — child
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cell — in biology
  20. march — the month
  21. cell — a phone
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. press — a publisher
  24. bulb — of a plant

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