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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 116 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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. press — newspapers
  3. march — music
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. bass — low music
  7. press — a publisher
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. press — to push
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. march — the month
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — a grade
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. field — farmland
  24. march — the month

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