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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. press — to push
  3. chest — of your body
  4. field — farmland
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rock — a stone
  7. spell — a short time
  8. chest — of your body
  9. present — the time now
  10. field — a subject
  11. spell — letters
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. present — a gift
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. spell — magic
  16. press — newspapers
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. press — a publisher
  21. chest — a box
  22. present — there
  23. field — for sport
  24. rock — music

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