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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wake — a trail
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bound — certain
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. field — a subject
  10. race — the arms race
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. prune — to trim
  15. field — farmland
  16. race — a contest
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bore — to drill
  19. race — humankind
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. field — for sport

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