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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. press — to push
  3. face — to point toward
  4. court — for sport
  5. board — to get on
  6. field — farmland
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. press — a publisher
  10. mate — to breed
  11. scale — size or range
  12. mate — a friend
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — a subject
  15. mate — a partner
  16. prune — to trim
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. press — newspapers
  20. scale — in music
  21. field — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. board — a committee

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