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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. net — in sport
  5. race — humankind
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. press — newspapers
  9. field — a subject
  10. press — to push
  11. field — farmland
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. race — a contest
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. net — after costs
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. press — a publisher
  19. mark — a grade
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. net — for catching
  22. mark — a trace
  23. field — for sport
  24. race — the arms race

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