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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. cell — a phone
  4. field — farmland
  5. mate — to breed
  6. track — a song
  7. press — to push
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. press — a publisher
  13. foot — a measure
  14. pass — a permit
  15. field — a subject
  16. mate — a partner
  17. field — for sport
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. track — a path
  20. mate — a friend
  21. press — newspapers
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. cell — in biology

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