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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · toast · cell · press · wake · snap

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. press — a publisher
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. press — to push
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. snap — to click
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. mine — for digging
  15. toast — bread
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wake — a trail
  18. press — newspapers

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