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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 · jam · press · field · present · stick · chair · tear

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. press — newspapers
  4. press — to push
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. field — farmland
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. press — a publisher
  9. present — the time now
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. field — a subject
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. present — there
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. tear — from crying
  20. present — a gift
  21. field — for sport
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. chair — a leader

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