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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pitch — completely
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. press — to push
  15. ground — the earth
  16. court — of a king
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. press — newspapers
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. ground — a position
  21. season — of the year
  22. mine — for digging
  23. season — in sport
  24. ground — crushed

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