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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 124 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. band — a music group
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pitch — completely
  6. field — a subject
  7. tube — a container
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. tube — the underground
  12. press — to push
  13. field — for sport
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. field — farmland
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. press — newspapers
  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