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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: wound · leaves · field · nail · press · lean · present · stand

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. present — a gift
  3. stand — to bear
  4. field — for sport
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. present — the time now
  7. field — farmland
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. field — a subject
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. press — a publisher
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. lean — thin
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. press — newspapers
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. wound — an injury
  24. present — there

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