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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. toast — bread
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. shower — rain
  5. field — a subject
  6. shower — to wash
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. press — newspapers
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. rash — a series
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. field — farmland
  18. deal — to handle
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. press — to push
  22. stock — goods
  23. field — for sport
  24. press — a publisher

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