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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. press — to push
  5. net — in sport
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. object — to protest
  9. net — for catching
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. sharp — clever
  12. squash — to crush
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. field — farmland
  15. foot — a measure
  16. press — newspapers
  17. net — after costs
  18. object — an aim
  19. field — a subject
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. press — a publisher
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. object — a thing
  24. squash — the sport

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