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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cold — not warm
  5. present — a gift
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fall — the season
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. fall — to drop
  13. press — newspapers
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. clip — a video
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. fine — all right
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. fall — to drop
  22. press — a publisher
  23. stem — to come from
  24. press — to push

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