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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rash — a series
  3. field — farmland
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. march — the month
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. key — for a lock
  10. press — a publisher
  11. march — music
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. chest — of your body
  14. field — for sport
  15. press — to push
  16. rash — hasty
  17. key — in music
  18. press — newspapers
  19. rock — a stone
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. chest — a box
  22. key — the most important part
  23. field — a subject
  24. rock — music

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