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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cell — in biology
  3. fork — in a road
  4. lean — to bend
  5. press — a publisher
  6. chest — of your body
  7. press — newspapers
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. bat — the animal
  13. press — to push
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. chest — a box
  19. lean — thin
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. racket — for tennis

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