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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chip — for betting
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. field — a subject
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. prune — to trim
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. saw — the tool
  14. press — to push
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. press — newspapers
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. row — to paddle
  20. press — a publisher
  21. chip — to eat
  22. prune — to trim
  23. row — a line
  24. prune — the fruit

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