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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pit — a hole
  5. snap — to click
  6. branch — a division
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pit — in a race
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. swing — to play on
  12. mate — to breed
  13. press — a publisher
  14. swing — music
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. mate — a friend
  18. club — for dancing
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for golf
  22. sharp — clever
  23. press — newspapers
  24. swing — in golf

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