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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. field — farmland
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. field — a subject
  6. staff — employees
  7. press — to push
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cap — of ice
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mate — a friend
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. field — for sport
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bat — the animal
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bore — to tire
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cap — a hat
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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