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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  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. date — on the calendar
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bore — to drill
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. present — the time now
  10. date — the fruit
  11. present — there
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. press — newspapers
  14. clip — to cut
  15. present — a gift
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. clip — for paper
  18. press — to push
  19. clip — a video
  20. press — a publisher
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — to recline
  23. bore — to tire
  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