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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 your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. last — to go on
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. last — final
  10. press — to push
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. press — newspapers
  14. capital — a city
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. last — finally
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. capital — money
  23. pitch — completely
  24. press — a publisher

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