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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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468
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: kid · lash · ground · spell · press · fine · track · cell

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. cell — a phone
  3. press — to push
  4. spell — magic
  5. press — newspapers
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. track — to keep track
  8. ground — the earth
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. spell — letters
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. press — a publisher
  16. fine — high quality
  17. ground — crushed
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cell — in biology
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. ground — a position
  22. track — a path
  23. spell — a short time
  24. track — a song

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