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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: sharp · press · swing · cell · game · pitcher · arm · chest

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. press — newspapers
  5. sharp — clever
  6. swing — to play on
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cell — in biology
  13. swing — music
  14. cell — a phone
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — a match
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. swing — in golf
  24. game — wild animals

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