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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. sharp — clever
  5. club — for dancing
  6. press — to push
  7. field — for sport
  8. press — newspapers
  9. field — a subject
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. can — a tin
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bark — to shout
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. club — for golf
  17. wind — moving air
  18. club — a group
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. field — farmland
  21. can — to be able to
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. can — a tin

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