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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cap — a hat
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. spell — letters
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. mark — a grade
  9. wake — a trail
  10. field — farmland
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. mark — a trace
  13. press — to push
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. spell — magic
  17. press — newspapers
  18. field — for sport
  19. cap — a lid
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cap — of ice
  22. field — a subject
  23. press — a publisher
  24. sharp — clever

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