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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 116 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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cap — a lid
  4. spell — magic
  5. bound — obliged
  6. kid — child
  7. swing — music
  8. net — in sport
  9. spell — a short time
  10. press — newspapers
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. spell — letters
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bound — certain
  16. swing — to play on
  17. press — to push
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bound — tied together
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cap — of ice
  22. net — after costs
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. net — for catching

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