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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. press — a publisher
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. press — to push
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. press — newspapers
  13. field — a subject
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. degree — from a university
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. deal — to handle
  22. pound — a weight
  23. sharp — clever
  24. chair — a leader

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