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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. last — final
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. charge — in control
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — newspapers
  7. mug — a face
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. mine — for digging
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. field — a subject
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — electricity
  20. field — farmland
  21. press — to push
  22. mug — a cup
  23. field — for sport
  24. mine — belonging to me

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