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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — music
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bat — the animal
  7. ground — a position
  8. field — for sport
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kid — child
  12. press — to push
  13. field — a subject
  14. pop — to visit
  15. field — farmland
  16. cue — for pool
  17. press — a publisher
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cue — a signal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. press — newspapers
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bat — for baseball

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