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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fork — in a road
  6. game — wild animals
  7. press — a publisher
  8. game — a match
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. press — newspapers
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. pitch — completely
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pound — a weight
  24. chair — a leader

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