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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. land — ground
  4. bat — the animal
  5. press — newspapers
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. perch — the fish
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. roll — a cake
  13. press — to push
  14. land — to come down
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. roll — a list
  17. ball — a great time
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. ball — a dance
  22. fork — in a road
  23. land — a country
  24. fork — to eat with

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