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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — a phone
  4. press — newspapers
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. hand — help
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rule — a law
  11. can — a tin
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. field — for sport
  14. rule — government
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. press — to push
  18. bark — to shout
  19. hand — in cards
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. field — farmland
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cell — in a prison

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