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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. field — a subject
  3. press — a publisher
  4. kick — in football
  5. press — to push
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. press — newspapers
  8. band — a ring
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. band — a music group
  11. field — for sport
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pitch — completely
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. field — farmland
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. club — for dancing
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. club — for golf
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. club — a group

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