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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: pound · press · staff · present · bat · field

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. press — to push
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pound — a weight
  7. staff — employees
  8. present — the time now
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. present — a gift
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. field — farmland
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. press — newspapers
  16. staff — employees
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. staff — a stick

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