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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · ruler · clip · drill · bat · mug · field · pound

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. field — for sport
  4. press — to push
  5. field — a subject
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. mug — a cup
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. drill — army training
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. clip — a video
  16. field — farmland
  17. bat — the animal
  18. press — newspapers
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. pound — a weight
  21. mug — a face
  22. press — a publisher
  23. clip — for paper
  24. ruler — for measuring

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