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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: fan · press · field · mark · wind · bowl · last · pit

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. field — farmland
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. last — to go on
  9. pit — in a race
  10. last — final
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. field — for sport
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. press — to push
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. press — a publisher
  19. last — finally
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. field — a subject
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — a trace

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