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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. field — for sport
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. spring — the season
  5. can — a tin
  6. kid — child
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bound — certain
  9. spring — of water
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — obliged
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. kid — to tease
  16. can — a tin
  17. degree — from a university
  18. press — to push
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wake — a trail
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. can — to be able to
  24. press — newspapers

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