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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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Word bank
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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: deal · date · bound · mine · last · cell · cue · press

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. 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. mine — for digging
  2. last — finally
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bound — obliged
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bound — certain
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cell — in biology
  14. date — the fruit
  15. press — to push
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. deal — to handle
  18. cell — a phone
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cue — for pool
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. 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