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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. present — a gift
  5. hand — help
  6. lean — to bend
  7. march — the month
  8. file — a tool
  9. swing — to play on
  10. present — there
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — to push
  13. present — the time now
  14. file — a document
  15. hand — in cards
  16. press — newspapers
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pit — a hole
  19. swing — in golf
  20. pit — in a race
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. swing — music

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