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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. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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. game — a match
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pit — a hole
  10. suit — in cards
  11. chair — a leader
  12. last — to go on
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. last — finally
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. press — newspapers
  18. suit — to fit
  19. press — to push
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. last — final
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. suit — clothes

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