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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. press — to push
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bulb — for light
  6. game — a match
  7. swing — to play on
  8. press — newspapers
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. swing — in golf
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. bulb — for light
  13. fork — in a road
  14. swing — music
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. cell — in a prison

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