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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 120 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. charge — electricity
  5. net — in sport
  6. press — a publisher
  7. charge — in control
  8. field — a subject
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. field — farmland
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. net — after costs
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. key — the most important part
  15. kid — to tease
  16. press — to push
  17. kid — child
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. key — in music
  20. charge — a price
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mine — for digging
  24. net — for catching

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