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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 116 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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468
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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. field — a subject
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. spell — magic
  8. bulb — for light
  9. squash — the sport
  10. field — for sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. press — to push
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. spell — letters
  18. cold — not warm
  19. press — a publisher
  20. field — farmland
  21. bulb — for light
  22. pitch — completely
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — the Cold War

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