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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: saw · press · land · firm · field · leaves · pit · capital

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pit — a hole
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. field — for sport
  5. press — a publisher
  6. field — a subject
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. capital — a city
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. press — newspapers
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. land — to come down
  15. firm — a company
  16. press — to push
  17. firm — decided
  18. saw — the tool
  19. capital — money
  20. firm — steady
  21. pit — in a race
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. saw — the 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