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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: present · bay · snap · cell · sharp · press · stick · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. present — a gift
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. snap — to click
  10. present — the time now
  11. sharp — clever
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. season — of the year
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. press — to push
  20. season — in sport
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. present — there
  23. press — a publisher
  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