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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 124 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. press — a publisher
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pitch — completely
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spell — magic
  11. ground — the earth
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. press — to push
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. kid — to tease
  17. press — newspapers
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — a position
  20. kid — child
  21. key — the most important part
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. spell — letters
  24. chest — a box

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