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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. spell — magic
  3. land — to come down
  4. spell — letters
  5. mate — to breed
  6. field — farmland
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. land — ground
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. race — a contest
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. race — humankind
  14. wake — a trail
  15. press — a publisher
  16. land — a country
  17. press — to push
  18. field — for sport
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. press — newspapers
  24. mate — a friend

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