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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: fork · cell · foot · fine · field · press

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fork — in a road
  6. press — to push
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. press — a publisher
  9. field — for sport
  10. foot — a measure
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. cell — in biology
  13. fine — all right
  14. field — a subject
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. press — newspapers
  18. fork — a garden tool

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