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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. field — farmland
  3. shower — to wash
  4. object — an aim
  5. field — for sport
  6. ball — a great time
  7. press — a publisher
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. scale — in music
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. press — to push
  13. kick — in football
  14. field — a subject
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. object — to protest
  21. press — newspapers
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. object — a thing
  24. ball — a dance

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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