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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.

Words on the sheet
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: toast · press · tear · field · court · fan · staff · perch

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. court — of a king
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. perch — the fish
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tear — from crying
  13. press — newspapers
  14. staff — employees
  15. field — farmland
  16. tear — to rip
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. tear — from crying
  19. press — a publisher
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. staff — employees
  22. press — to push
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — a subject

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