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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: field · wind · straw · press · hide · land · stick · staff

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. wind — moving air
  4. land — a country
  5. press — newspapers
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. field — a subject
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. land — to come down
  11. staff — a stick
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. field — for sport
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. land — ground
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. press — a publisher
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. press — to push
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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