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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. swing — music
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bank — of a river
  8. swing — in golf
  9. press — to push
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bank — for money
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bank — for money
  20. last — to go on
  21. track — a song
  22. cell — in biology
  23. press — newspapers
  24. swing — to play on

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