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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. fall — to drop
  3. root — of a plant
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bat — the animal
  8. fall — to drop
  9. press — to push
  10. march — the month
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. chair — a leader
  13. press — newspapers
  14. content — the amount
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. root — the cause
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fall — the season
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. root — of a word
  24. content — happy

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