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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — happening now
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. field — for sport
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. fall — the season
  9. lie — to recline
  10. chest — of your body
  11. press — a publisher
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. march — the month
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. press — to push
  19. march — the month
  20. fall — to drop
  21. press — newspapers
  22. current — electric
  23. fall — to drop
  24. march — music

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