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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. press — to push
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. tube — a container
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. press — a publisher
  9. stand — to bear
  10. field — for sport
  11. mate — a partner
  12. press — newspapers
  13. clip — to cut
  14. field — a subject
  15. mate — a friend
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. clip — a video
  21. field — farmland
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mate — to breed
  24. pitcher — a jug

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