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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: wind · squash · mate · press · field · stand · saw · present

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. present — there
  3. wind — moving air
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. squash — the sport
  7. mate — a partner
  8. present — the time now
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. field — farmland
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. field — for sport
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mate — to breed
  16. press — to push
  17. present — a gift
  18. press — newspapers
  19. mate — a friend
  20. squash — to crush
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — a subject
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. saw — the tool

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