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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. land — a country
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. field — a subject
  8. net — after costs
  9. wake — a trail
  10. mark — a grade
  11. field — farmland
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. net — for catching
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. net — in sport
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. field — for sport
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bat — the animal

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