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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. row — a line
  3. press — a publisher
  4. club — for dancing
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. press — newspapers
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cap — a lid
  9. press — to push
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cap — of ice
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. hand — help
  14. field — farmland
  15. spell — magic
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. row — to paddle
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cap — a hat
  20. club — a group
  21. spell — letters
  22. field — for sport
  23. club — for golf
  24. hand — part of the body

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