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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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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. net — for catching
  4. press — to push
  5. field — farmland
  6. march — music
  7. field — for sport
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — for betting
  10. net — after costs
  11. season — in sport
  12. wake — a trail
  13. march — the month
  14. present — a gift
  15. chip — to eat
  16. season — of the year
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. press — a publisher
  20. field — a subject
  21. march — the month
  22. present — the time now
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. net — in sport

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