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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: press · chest · jam · field · firm · cell · key · lean

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. firm — a company
  4. field — a subject
  5. press — a publisher
  6. lean — to bend
  7. key — the most important part
  8. lean — thin
  9. press — newspapers
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cell — a phone
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. press — to push
  16. key — in music
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. chest — a box
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — steady
  23. field — for sport
  24. key — for a lock

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