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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. club — for golf
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. fine — all right
  6. swing — in golf
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. press — to push
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. fine — high quality
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. press — newspapers
  16. swing — music
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. ball — a dance
  19. club — for dancing
  20. swing — to play on
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. club — a group
  24. pitcher — a jug

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