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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. club — a group
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pass — a permit
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. sharp — clever
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. press — newspapers
  20. prune — to trim
  21. press — to push
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. club — for golf
  24. bat — the animal

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