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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. press — a publisher
  3. ground — a position
  4. fall — to drop
  5. season — of the year
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. swing — to play on
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. fall — to drop
  11. ground — crushed
  12. swing — music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. press — to push
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fall — the season
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. season — in sport
  20. present — the time now
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. present — a gift
  24. press — newspapers

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