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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. press — a publisher
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. pitch — completely
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. ground — a position
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — to tease
  21. press — to push
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mine — for digging
  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