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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fine — all right
  5. press — to push
  6. fine — high quality
  7. spell — letters
  8. cold — not warm
  9. spell — a short time
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cell — in biology
  16. press — newspapers
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spell — magic
  21. mate — to breed
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. mate — a friend
  24. foot — the bottom

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