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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. ball — a dance
  7. net — in sport
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. swing — in golf
  11. press — a publisher
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — to push
  16. bat — the animal
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. swing — to play on
  19. net — after costs
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. toast — bread
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. net — for catching
  24. swing — music

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