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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. race — humankind
  3. swing — in golf
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. field — a subject
  6. file — a tool
  7. mug — to rob
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. swing — music
  10. press — a publisher
  11. swing — to play on
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. field — for sport
  14. mug — a face
  15. file — a line of people
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. file — a document
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mug — a cup
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pound — a weight
  24. press — to push

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