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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fall — to drop
  6. court — for sport
  7. key — the most important part
  8. content — happy
  9. fall — to drop
  10. present — the time now
  11. content — the amount
  12. present — a gift
  13. court — of law
  14. press — a publisher
  15. fall — the season
  16. key — in music
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. court — of a king
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. present — there
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. press — newspapers
  24. key — for a lock

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