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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. press — a publisher
  3. chest — a box
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. press — to push
  13. game — wild animals
  14. swing — music
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. swing — in golf
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wound — an injury
  23. march — the month
  24. game — a match

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