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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. key — in music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. ball — a great time
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fall — the season
  12. press — newspapers
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. tube — the underground
  15. band — a ring
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. ball — a dance
  21. press — a publisher
  22. tube — a container
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fork — a garden tool

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