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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: press · pop · chest · field · kick · pitch

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. field — for sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — completely
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. pop — music
  8. press — to push
  9. pop — to visit
  10. field — farmland
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. press — newspapers
  13. chest — a box
  14. press — a publisher
  15. chest — of your body
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pop — soda

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