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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 · craft · field · spring · land · pound · can · mouse

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. spring — of water
  5. field — farmland
  6. spring — a coil
  7. land — ground
  8. craft — boats
  9. land — a country
  10. can — a tin
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. press — to push
  13. field — a subject
  14. spring — the season
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. land — to come down
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — a skill
  20. field — for sport
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. can — a tin
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — newspapers

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