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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. net — for catching
  3. charge — electricity
  4. press — to push
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. snap — to click
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. charge — a price
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. game — wild animals
  11. rash — a series
  12. press — newspapers
  13. game — a match
  14. rush — hurry
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. rash — hasty
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. charge — in control
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. fork — in a road

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