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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. press — to push
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. sharp — clever
  9. lean — thin
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. chest — of your body
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. press — newspapers
  18. tube — the underground
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. press — a publisher
  21. chest — a box
  22. tube — a container
  23. pitch — completely
  24. sharp — with an edge

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