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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. press — to push
  3. press — newspapers
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a great time
  6. chest — a box
  7. file — a tool
  8. game — wild animals
  9. swing — in golf
  10. pitch — completely
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. swing — music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bat — the animal
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. press — a publisher
  21. game — a match
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. file — a document

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