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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — a match
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. press — a publisher
  8. ball — a great time
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. press — to push
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — in a race
  17. press — newspapers
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. squash — to crush
  24. sharp — clever

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