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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. field — farmland
  3. press — newspapers
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. press — to push
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. perch — the fish
  8. fall — to drop
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. fall — the season
  12. cold — not warm
  13. deal — to handle
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. field — for sport
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bark — to shout
  19. field — a subject
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. press — a publisher
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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