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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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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: lean · press · cold · tube · field · chest · branch · toast

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. press — newspapers
  3. tube — a container
  4. branch — a division
  5. toast — bread
  6. lean — to bend
  7. chest — of your body
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cold — not warm
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — to push
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chest — a box
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. lean — thin
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. field — for sport
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. field — farmland

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