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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. lean — to bend
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bark — to shout
  6. lean — thin
  7. bass — the fish
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bass — low music
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. dip — to sink
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. press — to push
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. game — a match
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. game — wild animals

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