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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. firm — steady
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. field — a subject
  5. press — to push
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. file — a line of people
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. file — a document
  12. press — a publisher
  13. mate — a partner
  14. fork — in a road
  15. firm — a company
  16. mate — a friend
  17. kick — in football
  18. field — farmland
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. field — for sport
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mate — to breed
  24. file — a tool

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