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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pit — in a race
  4. game — wild animals
  5. swing — in golf
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. game — a match
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — farmland
  14. swing — music
  15. pit — a hole
  16. field — for sport
  17. press — to push
  18. press — newspapers
  19. swing — to play on
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. tear — to rip
  22. field — a subject
  23. cap — of ice
  24. arm — part of the body

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