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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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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: mate · press · degree · land · bat · racket · bay · field

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. mate — to breed
  2. land — to come down
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mate — a partner
  8. press — a publisher
  9. land — ground
  10. press — to push
  11. mate — a friend
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. degree — temperature
  15. field — a subject
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. land — a country
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bat — the animal
  23. degree — an amount
  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