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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. ball — a great time
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. press — to push
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. file — a document
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — part of the head
  23. season — of the year
  24. pound — a weight

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