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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. field — farmland
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. field — a subject
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pop — to visit
  8. roll — a list
  9. tear — to rip
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. press — a publisher
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. row — a line
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. press — newspapers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. row — to paddle
  18. snap — to click
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. field — for sport
  21. roll — a cake
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. tear — from crying

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