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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. press — newspapers
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pitch — completely
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cold — not warm
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. rash — hasty
  15. kid — child
  16. rash — a series
  17. shower — to wash
  18. kid — to tease
  19. press — to push
  20. press — a publisher
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. arm — part of the body

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