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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. field — farmland
  4. current — of water
  5. pop — to visit
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cue — a signal
  9. bass — the fish
  10. content — happy
  11. field — a subject
  12. content — the amount
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cue — for pool
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. current — electric
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. field — for sport
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — music
  23. press — newspapers
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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