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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. press — a publisher
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. clip — for paper
  7. press — to push
  8. mark — a grade
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. press — newspapers
  12. rash — hasty
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. field — for sport
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. rock — music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. mark — a trace
  24. rock — a stone

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