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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: cell · stick · bat · last · press · band · fall · bear

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. band — a ring
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — newspapers
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. press — to push
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bear — the animal
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bear — the animal
  15. last — final
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. fall — the season
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. band — a music group
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bat — the animal

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