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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. field — for sport
  4. board — a committee
  5. track — to keep track
  6. press — a publisher
  7. field — farmland
  8. board — to get on
  9. rest — what's left
  10. press — newspapers
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. rest — what's left
  13. net — in sport
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. wake — a trail
  18. field — a subject
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. track — a song
  21. press — to push
  22. rest — a break
  23. track — a path
  24. kick — in football

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