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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 meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. press — to push
  9. spell — letters
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. saw — the tool
  12. stock — goods
  13. spell — a short time
  14. saw — the tool
  15. season — of the year
  16. press — a publisher
  17. field — farmland
  18. spell — magic
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. press — newspapers
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — completely
  23. stock — shares
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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