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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. rash — a series
  3. hand — help
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rash — hasty
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spell — letters
  9. field — for sport
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — to push
  12. field — farmland
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bound — obliged
  15. staff — employees
  16. spell — magic
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — certain
  19. press — a publisher
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. field — a subject

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