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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 120 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: suit · press · ground · wake · hand · last · mark · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. hand — help
  4. last — finally
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. last — final
  8. press — to push
  9. ground — a position
  10. suit — clothes
  11. last — to go on
  12. wake — a trail
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — a publisher
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. suit — to fit
  18. suit — in cards
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mark — a trace
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. mark — a grade

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