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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. wind — moving air
  5. press — to push
  6. wind — moving air
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. field — a subject
  9. pit — a hole
  10. field — for sport
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. field — farmland
  13. press — newspapers
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. date — the fruit
  17. pit — in a race
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. foot — a measure
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. press — a publisher

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