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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. kid — child
  3. lean — to bend
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. kid — to tease
  6. ground — crushed
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. lean — thin
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. press — to push
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. ground — the earth
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. press — newspapers
  20. rock — music
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  24. rock — a stone

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