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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. pitch — completely
  4. field — a subject
  5. chest — of your body
  6. season — in sport
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. press — a publisher
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. chest — a box
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. snap — to click
  18. lean — to bend
  19. field — farmland
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. field — for sport
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lean — thin

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