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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. press — to push
  3. last — final
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. spell — a short time
  6. land — to come down
  7. root — of a word
  8. cue — a hint
  9. track — a path
  10. last — to go on
  11. spell — magic
  12. press — newspapers
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a song
  15. spell — letters
  16. root — the cause
  17. press — a publisher
  18. dip — to sink
  19. cue — a signal
  20. root — of a plant
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. cue — for pool

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