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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. season — of the year
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. press — newspapers
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. press — to push
  9. pit — in a race
  10. kid — child
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. press — a publisher
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bound — obliged
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. chest — a box
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. sharp — clever
  19. chest — of your body
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bound — certain
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bound — tied together
  24. chest — of your body

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