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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ground — crushed
  3. spell — magic
  4. ground — a position
  5. spell — letters
  6. lie — to recline
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rest — what's left
  9. press — newspapers
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. field — for sport
  12. hand — help
  13. field — farmland
  14. season — in sport
  15. ground — the earth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. press — to push
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hand — in cards
  21. press — a publisher
  22. season — of the year
  23. rest — a break
  24. spell — a short time

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