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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — moving air
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. band — a ring
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rule — government
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. wind — moving air
  17. press — newspapers
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. press — to push
  21. band — a music group
  22. rule — a law
  23. field — farmland
  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