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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: pit · field · bass · press · snap · ground · straw · tear

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. press — to push
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bass — the fish
  7. ground — the earth
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. ground — crushed
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ground — a position
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — newspapers
  20. field — farmland
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bass — low music

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