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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. season — in sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. press — a publisher
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. field — farmland
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. foot — a measure
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. press — to push
  16. season — of the year
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. court — for sport
  19. lean — thin
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. branch — a division
  22. press — newspapers
  23. lean — to bend
  24. field — for sport

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