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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. ground — a position
  6. band — a ring
  7. bark — to shout
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. land — to come down
  10. field — for sport
  11. land — ground
  12. press — to push
  13. tube — the underground
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. press — a publisher
  19. land — a country
  20. tube — a container
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. band — a music group
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. fan — a supporter

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