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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. last — finally
  3. degree — temperature
  4. last — to go on
  5. field — farmland
  6. hand — help
  7. press — to push
  8. field — for sport
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. mate — a friend
  14. press — a publisher
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. degree — from a university
  18. mate — to breed
  19. last — final
  20. degree — an amount
  21. press — newspapers
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mate — a partner

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