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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. press — newspapers
  5. field — for sport
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bass — low music
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. mark — a grade
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. capital — a city
  14. field — farmland
  15. press — to push
  16. field — a subject
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. kid — child
  19. mark — a trace
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. capital — money
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. snap — to click

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