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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bat — the animal
  3. game — wild animals
  4. row — a line
  5. field — farmland
  6. staff — employees
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. mark — a trace
  10. charge — electricity
  11. press — a publisher
  12. staff — employees
  13. row — to paddle
  14. staff — a stick
  15. press — to push
  16. press — newspapers
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. field — a subject
  19. charge — in control
  20. charge — a price
  21. game — a match
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. mark — a grade
  24. game — a kind of play

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