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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  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. drill — army training
  2. press — to push
  3. march — the month
  4. fork — in a road
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. field — a subject
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. kick — in football
  10. face — part of the head
  11. object — a thing
  12. drill — a practice
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. object — to protest
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. face — to confront
  19. march — the month
  20. face — to point toward
  21. march — music
  22. drill — the tool
  23. object — an aim
  24. press — newspapers

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