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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. season — of the year
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. press — to push
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bass — low music
  9. pit — in a race
  10. bass — the fish
  11. file — a document
  12. key — for a lock
  13. file — a line of people
  14. key — the most important part
  15. rush — hurry
  16. press — a publisher
  17. file — a tool
  18. press — newspapers
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — to breed
  21. key — in music
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. season — in sport
  24. rush — to hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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