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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. field — a subject
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mate — to breed
  5. press — newspapers
  6. march — the month
  7. press — to push
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. march — music
  11. bat — the animal
  12. track — a song
  13. field — for sport
  14. press — a publisher
  15. march — the month
  16. field — farmland
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wake — a trail
  22. track — to keep track
  23. ground — a position
  24. mate — a friend

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