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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. craft — boats
  3. press — a publisher
  4. mine — for digging
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. ball — a great time
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bass — low music
  15. deal — to handle
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. press — to push
  18. ball — a dance
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. craft — a skill
  21. press — newspapers
  22. field — a subject
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. ball — a round shape

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