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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. bear — the animal
  3. press — to push
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. game — a match
  6. file — a tool
  7. court — for sport
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. field — a subject
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bear — the animal
  12. season — of the year
  13. court — of law
  14. file — a line of people
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. file — a document
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. press — newspapers
  21. game — wild animals
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. season — in sport
  24. court — of a king

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