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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 120 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: press · lie · pit · pitch · shower · kid · rest · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pit — in a race
  5. shower — to wash
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — rain
  8. press — newspapers
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. kid — child
  12. pit — a hole
  13. lie — to recline
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. press — to push
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. press — a publisher
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitch — a sports field

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