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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: press · racket · field · perch · last · pound · rush · mate

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mate — a friend
  3. rush — hurry
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. press — to push
  6. mate — a partner
  7. perch — the fish
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. field — farmland
  12. last — to go on
  13. press — newspapers
  14. field — a subject
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. last — final
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. last — finally
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mate — to breed
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. pound — a weight
  23. press — a publisher
  24. pound — to hit hard

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