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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mate — to breed
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. mate — a friend
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. press — to push
  7. press — newspapers
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. field — farmland
  10. land — ground
  11. squash — to crush
  12. land — to come down
  13. squash — the sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. pitch — completely
  16. mate — a partner
  17. rush — hurry
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. land — a country
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. press — a publisher
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. rush — to hurry

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