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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. staff — a stick
  6. chest — of your body
  7. press — to push
  8. wound — an injury
  9. can — to be able to
  10. staff — employees
  11. can — a tin
  12. staff — employees
  13. press — a publisher
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. can — a tin
  16. chest — of your body
  17. press — newspapers
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. wound — an injury
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. field — farmland
  23. chest — a box
  24. arm — part of the body

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