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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cold — an illness
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. lie — to recline
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cold — not warm
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. press — newspapers
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — to push
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — a subject
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. trunk — of a tree

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