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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. date — the fruit
  3. object — to protest
  4. object — an aim
  5. cap — a lid
  6. swing — music
  7. net — after costs
  8. object — a thing
  9. dip — to sink
  10. chest — a box
  11. press — to push
  12. net — for catching
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. press — newspapers
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chest — of your body
  17. net — in sport
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cap — a hat
  21. swing — in golf
  22. chest — of your body
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. press — a publisher

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