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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. mine — for digging
  3. present — there
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. key — for a lock
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. season — of the year
  9. present — a gift
  10. field — for sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bore — to drill
  13. present — the time now
  14. press — to push
  15. field — farmland
  16. key — the most important part
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. key — in music
  23. bore — to tire
  24. field — a subject

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