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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. swing — to play on
  4. present — the time now
  5. mate — a partner
  6. present — a gift
  7. snap — to click
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. field — for sport
  11. press — to push
  12. swing — in golf
  13. press — newspapers
  14. field — a subject
  15. object — a thing
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — to breed
  19. swing — music
  20. field — farmland
  21. object — to protest
  22. present — there
  23. object — an aim
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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