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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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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: cold · swing · spring · object · current · cell · pitch · press

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. press — a publisher
  3. swing — in golf
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. cell — in biology
  7. object — to protest
  8. swing — to play on
  9. spring — of water
  10. current — of water
  11. swing — music
  12. object — an aim
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cold — an illness
  15. current — happening now
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cell — a phone
  18. press — to push
  19. current — electric
  20. spring — the season
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pitch — completely
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cell — in a prison

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