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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. press — to push
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cue — a signal
  7. row — a line
  8. field — farmland
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bass — low music
  12. band — a music group
  13. tear — to rip
  14. press — newspapers
  15. band — a ring
  16. cue — for pool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cue — a hint
  19. field — a subject
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bass — the fish
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bass — the instrument

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