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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
468
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 · bay · press · march · spell · leaves · kid · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. kid — child
  4. press — a publisher
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. field — for sport
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. field — farmland
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. field — a subject
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. spell — magic
  19. press — newspapers
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. march — music
  23. spell — letters
  24. press — to push

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