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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. tube — the underground
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. march — the month
  6. tube — a container
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. march — the month
  11. press — to push
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. face — to point toward
  15. perch — the fish
  16. march — music
  17. press — a publisher
  18. kid — child
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. press — newspapers
  21. swing — music
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. swing — in golf
  24. kid — to tease

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