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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. swing — music
  4. press — to push
  5. press — a publisher
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. swing — in golf
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. press — newspapers
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. file — a line of people
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. chair — a leader
  16. track — a path
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. foot — a measure
  20. file — a tool
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. file — a document
  24. track — a song

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