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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. roll — a cake
  4. mug — a face
  5. mug — a cup
  6. cold — an illness
  7. press — a publisher
  8. mug — to rob
  9. roll — a list
  10. craft — a skill
  11. pitch — completely
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. press — to push
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. craft — boats
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. cold — not warm
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. press — newspapers
  24. cold — the Cold War

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