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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rule — government
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. capital — a city
  8. press — to push
  9. bass — low music
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. capital — money
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — a cup
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bass — the fish
  17. rule — a law
  18. wound — an injury
  19. press — a publisher
  20. field — farmland
  21. mug — to rob
  22. press — newspapers
  23. field — a subject
  24. rule — to rule out

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