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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. track — a path
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. field — farmland
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. bass — the fish
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. pop — music
  16. fork — in a road
  17. pop — soda
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. track — a song
  20. field — a subject
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bass — low music
  23. cold — an illness
  24. track — to keep track

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