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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. field — for sport
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. press — newspapers
  5. field — a subject
  6. row — a line
  7. press — to push
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cell — a phone
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cell — in biology
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. mark — a trace
  19. field — farmland
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cue — for pool
  24. spring — a coil

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