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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 116 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. press — newspapers
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. content — the amount
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wake — a trail
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pitch — completely
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. field — farmland
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. press — a publisher
  15. content — happy
  16. spring — the season
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. spring — a coil
  19. field — for sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. field — a subject
  22. press — to push
  23. squash — the sport
  24. spring — of water

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