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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: game · face · field · swing · shower · stand · press · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. game — a match
  4. press — newspapers
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stand — to bear
  7. swing — music
  8. shower — rain
  9. swing — to play on
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. field — farmland
  12. game — wild animals
  13. face — to confront
  14. field — a subject
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — to breed
  17. field — for sport
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. swing — in golf
  20. face — part of the head
  21. shower — to wash
  22. press — a publisher
  23. face — to point toward
  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