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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. press — to push
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. present — there
  6. field — for sport
  7. present — the time now
  8. bound — obliged
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bound — certain
  12. charge — in control
  13. charge — a price
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. press — a publisher
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mine — for digging
  19. press — newspapers
  20. wound — an injury
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. bound — tied together
  23. present — a gift
  24. charge — electricity

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