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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. press — a publisher
  3. field — a subject
  4. press — newspapers
  5. land — ground
  6. shower — rain
  7. field — farmland
  8. rash — a series
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. rash — hasty
  11. pop — music
  12. press — to push
  13. pop — soda
  14. ball — a great time
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. field — for sport
  23. ball — a dance
  24. shower — to wash

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