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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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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 · chest · jam · field · firm · cell

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. chest — of your body
  3. firm — steady
  4. press — newspapers
  5. firm — a company
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. press — to push
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. field — for sport
  12. firm — decided
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cell — a phone
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. cell — in biology

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