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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. rash — hasty
  3. net — in sport
  4. swing — to play on
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. net — after costs
  7. swing — music
  8. present — there
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. press — a publisher
  12. mine — for digging
  13. net — for catching
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. rash — a series
  16. present — the time now
  17. sharp — clever
  18. press — newspapers
  19. swing — in golf
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. present — a gift
  24. mine — belonging to me

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