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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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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: mouse · content · lean · plane · last · field · press · clip

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. last — final
  3. lean — to bend
  4. press — a publisher
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. press — to push
  9. clip — a video
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. content — the amount
  12. clip — to cut
  13. last — to go on
  14. content — happy
  15. last — finally
  16. press — newspapers
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. field — a subject
  19. lean — thin
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. field — farmland
  23. plane — a tool
  24. clip — for paper

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