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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — newspapers
  4. field — a subject
  5. prune — to trim
  6. field — for sport
  7. cap — a hat
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. swing — music
  12. stock — shares
  13. field — farmland
  14. swing — in golf
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cap — of ice
  18. stock — goods
  19. press — to push
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cap — a lid

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