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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ground — crushed
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. press — newspapers
  9. ground — the earth
  10. press — a publisher
  11. mug — a cup
  12. field — farmland
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. ground — a position
  17. field — for sport
  18. press — to push

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