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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. roll — a cake
  3. press — to push
  4. bound — obliged
  5. net — for catching
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bound — certain
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. press — a publisher
  14. roll — a list
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. net — in sport
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. net — after costs
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bound — tied together
  24. press — newspapers

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