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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 116 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bound — certain
  4. swing — in golf
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. squash — to crush
  8. swing — music
  9. file — a tool
  10. game — a match
  11. press — to push
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. swing — to play on
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bound — tied together
  18. content — the amount
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bound — obliged
  21. file — a line of people
  22. press — a publisher
  23. file — a document
  24. squash — the sport

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