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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. kid — to tease
  3. field — farmland
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — completely
  7. rock — a stone
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rock — music
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bass — low music
  12. wake — a trail
  13. press — to push
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bass — the fish
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. kid — child
  24. field — a subject

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