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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — for pool
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. clip — to cut
  8. field — a subject
  9. press — to push
  10. field — for sport
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. dip — to sink
  13. last — final
  14. press — a publisher
  15. field — farmland
  16. last — to go on
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. clip — a video
  21. press — newspapers
  22. row — a line
  23. cue — a hint
  24. dip — to dunk

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