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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. field — for sport
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. chip — for betting
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. press — to push
  8. race — a contest
  9. chip — to eat
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wake — a trail
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. press — a publisher
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. race — the arms race
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. race — humankind

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