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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: toast · game · press · spring · fine · bat · pit · perch

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. spring — of water
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. game — wild animals
  7. perch — the fish
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a hole
  10. press — to push
  11. game — a match
  12. spring — the season
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bat — the animal
  16. toast — bread
  17. spring — a coil
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fine — high quality
  21. press — newspapers
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. press — a publisher

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