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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. spring — the season
  3. present — the time now
  4. march — the month
  5. press — to push
  6. swing — in golf
  7. spring — of water
  8. march — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. spring — a coil
  12. court — of a king
  13. field — farmland
  14. present — there
  15. present — a gift
  16. court — for sport
  17. press — a publisher
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. press — newspapers
  23. march — the month
  24. court — of law

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