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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. drill — army training
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. field — farmland
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. current — happening now
  12. sharp — clever
  13. drill — a practice
  14. press — newspapers
  15. current — electric
  16. current — of water
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. kid — child
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. pound — a weight
  21. press — a publisher
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. drill — the tool

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