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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. toast — bread
  4. track — a path
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. press — to push
  7. track — a song
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cold — not warm
  11. track — to keep track
  12. press — newspapers
  13. roll — a list
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. field — for sport
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. roll — a cake
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. cold — an illness

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