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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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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. field — for sport
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. march — the month
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bear — the animal
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. field — farmland
  11. branch — a division
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. march — the month
  14. bear — the animal
  15. press — to push
  16. march — music
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. press — newspapers
  20. field — a subject
  21. wind — moving air
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wind — moving air
  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