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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bulb — for light
  4. firm — a company
  5. pitch — completely
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bulb — for light
  8. field — for sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. press — newspapers
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. prune — to trim
  15. press — to push
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. stand — to bear
  18. firm — steady
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. field — farmland
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. field — a subject
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. stand — for spectators

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