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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. press — to push
  6. rash — a series
  7. pit — a hole
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. game — wild animals
  11. press — a publisher
  12. file — a document
  13. game — a match
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. press — newspapers
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. date — the fruit
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. rash — hasty

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