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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. court — of law
  5. season — of the year
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. key — for a lock
  8. court — for sport
  9. press — a publisher
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. court — of a king
  14. press — to push
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bat — the animal
  17. key — the most important part
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pit — in a race
  20. band — a ring
  21. pit — a hole
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  24. key — in music

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