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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 124 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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. bass — low music
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. field — a subject
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. wound — an injury
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — to breed
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bear — the animal

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