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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pass — a permit
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. fine — high quality
  9. cold — an illness
  10. last — to go on
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. field — for sport
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. press — to push
  19. fine — all right
  20. field — farmland
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. last — finally
  23. field — a subject
  24. cold — the Cold War

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