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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stock — goods
  5. press — to push
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. field — farmland
  10. race — humankind
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stock — shares
  14. press — a publisher
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stand — to bear
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. wake — a trail
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chest — a box
  24. race — a contest

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