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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: ball · snap · stick · chest · land · press · field · lie

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. land — a country
  3. ball — a dance
  4. press — a publisher
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. snap — to click
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. land — ground
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. press — newspapers
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. ball — a great time
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. land — to come down
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. field — a subject
  22. lie — to recline
  23. chest — a box
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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