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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: hand · game · present · press · track · wound · bulb · lean

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wound — an injury
  5. press — a publisher
  6. track — to keep track
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. lean — to bend
  9. track — a song
  10. hand — in cards
  11. lean — thin
  12. press — newspapers
  13. game — wild animals
  14. present — a gift
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hand — help
  18. press — to push
  19. track — a path
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. present — the time now
  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