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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rock — music
  3. field — for sport
  4. firm — steady
  5. press — a publisher
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. press — newspapers
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. firm — a company
  12. chair — a leader
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. perch — the fish
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. press — to push
  20. rock — a stone
  21. firm — decided
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. field — a subject
  24. clip — a video

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