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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. bat — the animal
  3. field — a subject
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. perch — the fish
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. field — farmland
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. season — of the year
  22. field — for sport
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. perch — for a bird

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