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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. field — a subject
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — music
  5. pop — soda
  6. net — in sport
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pop — music
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pop — to visit
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. press — to push
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. field — farmland
  20. net — after costs
  21. press — newspapers
  22. swing — in golf
  23. field — for sport
  24. net — for catching

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