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

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. scale — in music
  3. spell — letters
  4. press — newspapers
  5. land — ground
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. spell — a short time
  9. press — a publisher
  10. band — a music group
  11. season — in sport
  12. land — a country
  13. chest — of your body
  14. land — to come down
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. kid — to tease
  17. chest — of your body
  18. band — a ring
  19. scale — size or range
  20. spell — magic
  21. kid — child
  22. chest — a box
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. season — of the year

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