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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: fall · press · mark · board · cell · staff · firm · cold

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. staff — employees
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — decided
  5. press — newspapers
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. board — a committee
  8. firm — steady
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. press — to push
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. press — a publisher
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. cold — not warm
  15. board — to get on
  16. staff — a stick
  17. cold — an illness
  18. staff — employees
  19. mark — a trace
  20. fall — the season
  21. mark — a grade
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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