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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rash — a series
  3. press — a publisher
  4. chest — of your body
  5. march — the month
  6. press — newspapers
  7. deal — to handle
  8. spring — the season
  9. march — the month
  10. spring — a coil
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. spring — of water
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. press — to push
  18. chest — a box
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. march — music
  24. rash — hasty

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