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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 button?
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. rock — a stone
  4. field — farmland
  5. face — part of the head
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. field — a subject
  8. face — to confront
  9. ground — crushed
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. rock — music
  12. ground — the earth
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — in a race
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. press — a publisher
  21. ground — a position
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. press — newspapers
  24. field — for sport

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