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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. dip — to dunk
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. ground — a position
  8. press — a publisher
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. press — to push
  14. ground — crushed
  15. field — a subject
  16. pound — a weight
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. content — happy
  19. march — the month
  20. dip — to sink
  21. ground — the earth
  22. content — the amount
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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