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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mine — for digging
  3. club — a group
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bore — to drill
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rule — a law
  10. field — a subject
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — temperature
  13. press — to push
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bore — to tire
  17. degree — an amount
  18. press — a publisher
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — government
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — for dancing
  23. field — farmland
  24. press — newspapers

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