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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fork — in a road
  4. current — happening now
  5. tear — from crying
  6. current — electric
  7. cue — a hint
  8. spell — letters
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. ground — the earth
  12. press — a publisher
  13. field — a subject
  14. current — of water
  15. spell — magic
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cue — a signal
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. spell — a short time
  21. ground — a position
  22. press — to push
  23. tear — to rip
  24. ground — crushed

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