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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. press — a publisher
  3. field — a subject
  4. fork — in a road
  5. press — newspapers
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. field — farmland
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bat — the animal
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. rash — a series
  15. field — for sport
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mark — a grade
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. press — to push

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