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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. present — there
  2. clip — to cut
  3. present — a gift
  4. press — to push
  5. ground — crushed
  6. field — a subject
  7. ground — a position
  8. field — for sport
  9. land — to come down
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. press — newspapers
  13. land — a country
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. present — the time now
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. press — a publisher
  20. field — farmland
  21. land — ground
  22. fine — all right
  23. ground — the earth
  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