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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. vault — a safe
  5. field — a subject
  6. press — newspapers
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pass — a permit
  9. tear — to rip
  10. staff — employees
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. tear — from crying
  13. season — of the year
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. press — a publisher
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. chair — a leader
  20. staff — a stick
  21. press — to push
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. staff — employees
  24. season — in sport

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