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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. bank — for money
  3. press — a publisher
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bank — for money
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bank — of a river
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bass — the fish
  11. field — a subject
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bass — low music
  18. file — a tool
  19. field — farmland
  20. press — to push
  21. field — for sport
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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