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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. lean — thin
  3. ground — the earth
  4. content — the amount
  5. file — a tool
  6. field — for sport
  7. content — happy
  8. plane — a tool
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. lean — to bend
  12. field — a subject
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. file — a document
  16. march — the month
  17. file — a line of people
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. press — a publisher
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. field — farmland
  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