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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. club — a group
  3. fine — high quality
  4. press — to push
  5. fine — all right
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. tear — from crying
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. tear — to rip
  12. press — newspapers
  13. club — for golf
  14. band — a music group
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. can — a tin
  19. tear — from crying
  20. field — a subject
  21. can — a tin
  22. club — for dancing
  23. can — to be able to
  24. scale — for weighing

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