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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. press — a publisher
  3. suit — to fit
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. court — of law
  7. mug — a cup
  8. court — for sport
  9. mug — to rob
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mug — a face
  12. swing — to play on
  13. date — the fruit
  14. swing — music
  15. suit — in cards
  16. court — of a king
  17. ground — a position
  18. suit — clothes
  19. swing — in golf
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. press — newspapers
  22. ground — crushed
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. press — to push

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