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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. field — a subject
  3. file — a document
  4. march — the month
  5. chest — a box
  6. press — newspapers
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. press — a publisher
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. field — for sport
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bore — to tire
  15. field — farmland
  16. press — to push
  17. face — part of the head
  18. file — a tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. bore — to drill
  23. chest — of your body
  24. file — a line of people

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