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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 120 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. field — farmland
  3. press — newspapers
  4. degree — an amount
  5. dip — to sink
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. field — a subject
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spell — magic
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. degree — temperature
  18. spell — letters
  19. field — for sport
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. rush — hurry
  23. spell — a short time
  24. straw — dry grass

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