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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. last — final
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. swing — to play on
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. ball — a dance
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. track — to keep track
  11. vault — a safe
  12. game — wild animals
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. track — a path
  15. swing — music
  16. last — finally
  17. press — newspapers
  18. track — a song
  19. ball — a great time
  20. last — to go on
  21. press — a publisher
  22. game — a match
  23. swing — in golf
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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