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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. hand — in cards
  3. dip — to sink
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bat — the animal
  6. land — to come down
  7. hand — help
  8. wound — an injury
  9. land — ground
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. press — a publisher
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. land — a country
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. toast — bread
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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