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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. field — a subject
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. spell — magic
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. field — for sport
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. scale — in music
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bark — to shout
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. field — farmland
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. press — to push
  24. scale — size or range

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