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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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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: press · cell · band · season · rest · snap · safe · pitch

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. snap — to click
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. press — to push
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. season — in sport
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. press — a publisher
  15. rest — what's left
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. pitch — completely
  19. rest — a break
  20. season — of the year
  21. rest — what's left
  22. band — a ring
  23. press — newspapers
  24. season — to add flavour

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