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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. press — to push
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. field — for sport
  8. press — a publisher
  9. fine — high quality
  10. kick — in football
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fine — all right
  14. field — farmland
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. pitch — completely
  22. can — a tin
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. press — newspapers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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