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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. fall — to drop
  3. club — a group
  4. press — to push
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. club — for golf
  7. fall — to drop
  8. field — farmland
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. fall — the season
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wind — moving air
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. track — a song
  17. track — a path
  18. track — to keep track
  19. field — a subject
  20. press — a publisher
  21. wind — moving air
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. club — for dancing
  24. field — for sport

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