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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. press — a publisher
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. pit — in a race
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. scale — size or range
  10. last — finally
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. press — to push
  15. pit — a hole
  16. season — in sport
  17. bat — the animal
  18. scale — in music
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. press — newspapers

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