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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 116 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — in a race
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pit — a hole
  12. present — a gift
  13. press — a publisher
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. wind — moving air
  16. press — to push
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. present — there
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fork — in a road
  24. kid — child

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