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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. field — a subject
  6. net — for catching
  7. press — newspapers
  8. net — after costs
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — music
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. saw — the tool
  14. net — in sport
  15. pit — in a race
  16. rock — a stone
  17. pit — a hole
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wax — to grow
  20. field — for sport
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wax — in the ear

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