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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. press — to push
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. roll — a cake
  7. press — a publisher
  8. chair — a leader
  9. wake — a trail
  10. mate — a friend
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. mate — a partner
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. press — newspapers
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. roll — a list

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