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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. field — for sport
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cap — of ice
  5. field — farmland
  6. spring — the season
  7. bank — for money
  8. press — to push
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cap — a lid
  12. mate — a friend
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bank — for money
  16. spring — a coil
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. spring — of water
  19. cap — a hat
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. field — a subject
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — newspapers

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