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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: field · pit · lie · mine · scale · press · spring · band

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. press — a publisher
  6. field — a subject
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. lie — to recline
  11. field — farmland
  12. scale — size or range
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pit — in a race
  16. field — for sport
  17. press — newspapers
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. band — a ring
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. band — a music group
  23. press — to push
  24. scale — in music

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