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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. bat — the animal
  3. scale — in music
  4. bound — obliged
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. kick — in football
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bound — certain
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bound — tied together
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cold — not warm
  19. press — newspapers
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. branch — a division
  23. scale — size or range
  24. kick — with a leg

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