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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. press — to push
  3. cap — of ice
  4. file — a line of people
  5. press — newspapers
  6. rash — a series
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. file — a document
  13. rash — hasty
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. press — a publisher
  18. field — farmland
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cell — in biology
  21. file — a tool
  22. field — for sport
  23. cap — a hat
  24. field — a subject

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