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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. press — a publisher
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. field — farmland
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. can — to be able to
  9. row — a line
  10. chest — of your body
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. can — a tin
  13. ball — a dance
  14. field — a subject
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. can — a tin
  18. chest — a box
  19. row — to paddle
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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