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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. field — farmland
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. press — newspapers
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. press — a publisher
  9. field — a subject
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — the fish
  14. firm — a company
  15. field — for sport
  16. press — to push
  17. firm — steady
  18. firm — decided
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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