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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. press — to push
  5. march — the month
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — a short time
  9. suit — clothes
  10. suit — in cards
  11. scale — size or range
  12. mine — for digging
  13. press — newspapers
  14. march — the month
  15. scale — in music
  16. march — music
  17. suit — to fit
  18. spell — magic
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. press — a publisher
  24. bat — the animal

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