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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — completely
  3. wound — an injury
  4. band — a music group
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. club — for dancing
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. club — a group
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. band — a ring
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. club — for golf
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cold — not warm
  24. press — to push

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