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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. rash — hasty
  3. track — to keep track
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — a series
  8. press — to push
  9. field — a subject
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. press — newspapers
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. snap — to click
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. track — a song
  18. prune — to trim
  19. sharp — clever
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. track — a path
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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