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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: sharp · bat · face · press · fork · club · swing · bear

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bear — the animal
  3. press — to push
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. face — to point toward
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. face — part of the head
  10. club — a group
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bear — the animal
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. face — to confront
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — for dancing
  19. swing — music
  20. sharp — clever
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fork — in a road

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