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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pitch — completely
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. net — in sport
  8. clip — to cut
  9. roll — a list
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. foot — a measure
  12. clip — a video
  13. cold — not warm
  14. press — newspapers
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. net — after costs
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. press — a publisher
  19. clip — for paper
  20. net — for catching
  21. roll — a cake
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. press — to push

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