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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. press — a publisher
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wake — a trail
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. sharp — clever
  13. rush — hurry
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. press — to push
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. press — newspapers
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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