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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fall — to drop
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. can — a tin
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fork — in a road
  16. can — to be able to
  17. fall — to drop
  18. chest — a box
  19. press — newspapers
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. fall — the season
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pound — a weight
  24. can — a tin

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