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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: swing · track · row · bat · foot · press · spell · rash

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. spell — letters
  3. foot — a measure
  4. track — a path
  5. rash — a series
  6. press — to push
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. press — newspapers
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — music
  14. rash — hasty
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. swing — in golf
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bat — the animal
  21. spell — a short time
  22. track — a song
  23. spell — magic
  24. foot — part of the body

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