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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. field — farmland
  3. snap — to click
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. suit — clothes
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rush — hurry
  8. press — to push
  9. charge — electricity
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. field — a subject
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. chest — of your body
  15. suit — to fit
  16. suit — in cards
  17. press — newspapers
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. charge — a price
  20. field — for sport
  21. press — a publisher
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. charge — in control
  24. chest — a box

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