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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. rest — what's left
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. press — a publisher
  6. content — happy
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — a cake
  10. rest — what's left
  11. press — to push
  12. field — for sport
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. field — farmland
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. bark — to shout
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. press — newspapers
  22. spring — the season
  23. field — a subject
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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