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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cap — a lid
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pitch — completely
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mark — a grade
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. ground — crushed
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. land — ground
  13. sharp — clever
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wound — an injury
  18. land — a country
  19. cap — of ice
  20. land — to come down
  21. press — newspapers
  22. ground — a position
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mark — a trace

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