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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. press — newspapers
  6. capital — a city
  7. press — to push
  8. object — a thing
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. capital — money
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. press — a publisher
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pitch — completely
  17. object — an aim
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. game — wild animals
  20. foot — a measure
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. object — to protest
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. kid — to tease

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