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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. game — wild animals
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. press — a publisher
  7. field — for sport
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. drill — a practice
  11. press — to push
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — the cause
  14. press — newspapers
  15. root — of a plant
  16. scale — in music
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. drill — the tool
  20. scale — size or range
  21. game — a match
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. court — of law
  24. nail — on a finger

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