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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. field — for sport
  5. capital — a city
  6. bulb — for light
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. drill — army training
  10. press — to push
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mug — a cup
  13. press — a publisher
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mug — a face
  16. drill — a practice
  17. press — newspapers
  18. capital — money
  19. mine — for digging
  20. drill — the tool
  21. field — a subject
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. mug — to rob

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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