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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pop — music
  3. land — a country
  4. press — newspapers
  5. chair — a leader
  6. field — a subject
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. capital — a city
  9. pop — to visit
  10. press — to push
  11. press — a publisher
  12. field — for sport
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. capital — money
  15. mug — a cup
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. land — to come down
  18. mug — a face
  19. land — ground
  20. pop — soda
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mug — to rob

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