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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. field — a subject
  3. kid — to tease
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. fall — to drop
  6. kid — child
  7. fall — the season
  8. present — there
  9. press — a publisher
  10. current — electric
  11. fall — to drop
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. press — newspapers
  14. present — the time now
  15. board — a committee
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — of water
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. present — a gift

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