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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 120 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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. drill — army training
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rash — a series
  6. can — a tin
  7. press — a publisher
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bat — the animal
  12. can — a tin
  13. press — newspapers
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — for sport
  16. rash — hasty
  17. drill — a practice
  18. field — a subject
  19. cold — not warm
  20. press — to push
  21. can — to be able to
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. foot — a measure
  24. drill — the tool

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