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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. row — a line
  4. press — to push
  5. field — for sport
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. craft — boats
  9. row — to paddle
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. kick — in football
  13. press — a publisher
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. field — farmland
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. craft — a skill
  18. press — newspapers
  19. cell — in biology
  20. drill — army training
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cell — a phone
  24. craft — a handicraft

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