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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. pitch — completely
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. press — a publisher
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. press — to push
  12. chair — a leader
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. field — a subject
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. field — farmland
  17. chest — a box
  18. field — for sport

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