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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: press · staff · kid · shower · scale · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. staff — employees
  3. shower — rain
  4. press — to push
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. press — newspapers
  7. field — for sport
  8. press — a publisher
  9. field — a subject
  10. staff — a stick
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — size or range
  13. kid — to tease
  14. staff — employees
  15. scale — in music
  16. shower — to wash
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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