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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pitch — completely
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. press — newspapers
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pit — a hole
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. press — to push
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. press — a publisher
  16. race — a contest
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. race — the arms race
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. race — humankind
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. fan — a supporter

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