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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. press — a publisher
  6. field — for sport
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. march — music
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. mark — a trace
  12. march — the month
  13. press — to push
  14. mark — a grade
  15. march — the month
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. field — a subject
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. field — farmland
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. press — newspapers
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. mine — for digging

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