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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. field — for sport
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. clip — for paper
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bore — to drill
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. clip — a video
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bore — to tire
  17. field — farmland
  18. chair — a leader
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. field — a subject
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. press — newspapers

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