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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. current — happening now
  3. press — a publisher
  4. drill — army training
  5. craft — boats
  6. hand — help
  7. craft — a skill
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. press — newspapers
  10. current — of water
  11. rule — government
  12. field — farmland
  13. press — to push
  14. shower — to wash
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. drill — the tool
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. current — electric
  20. drill — a practice
  21. field — for sport
  22. shower — rain
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. field — a subject

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