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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. field — farmland
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tube — the underground
  9. land — ground
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to confront
  13. press — newspapers
  14. field — for sport
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. face — to point toward
  19. field — a subject
  20. land — to come down
  21. tube — a container
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. land — a country
  24. press — to push

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