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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. field — farmland
  2. press — newspapers
  3. degree — an amount
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. field — a subject
  6. saw — the tool
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. press — a publisher
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. tear — to rip
  11. press — to push
  12. degree — from a university
  13. date — the fruit
  14. saw — the tool
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. degree — temperature
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tear — from crying
  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