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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. spring — of water
  3. season — of the year
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. present — there
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. spring — the season
  9. field — farmland
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rash — a series
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. degree — from a university
  15. press — newspapers
  16. rash — hasty
  17. present — the time now
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. season — in sport
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — to push
  22. degree — temperature
  23. present — a gift
  24. spring — a coil

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