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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 120 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: march · pitcher · press · bulb · bay · calf · sharp · bat

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. march — music
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. march — the month
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bulb — for light
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bat — the animal
  18. march — the month
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. press — newspapers
  24. sharp — clever

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