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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. press — a publisher
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pit — in a race
  8. date — the fruit
  9. wind — moving air
  10. press — to push
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pit — a hole
  15. press — newspapers
  16. can — to be able to
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. hand — help
  23. can — a tin
  24. pitch — a sports field

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