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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wound · bat · press · game · pop · swing

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wound — an injury
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. swing — music
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. press — to push
  11. press — newspapers
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pop — to visit
  14. wound — an injury
  15. swing — to play on
  16. pop — soda
  17. game — wild animals
  18. 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