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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. mate — a friend
  3. chest — of your body
  4. press — to push
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. land — ground
  14. mate — to breed
  15. press — a publisher
  16. cell — in biology
  17. land — to come down
  18. capital — a city
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. land — a country
  21. pitch — completely
  22. capital — money
  23. chest — a box
  24. mate — a partner

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