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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: hand · press · saw · coach · field · stem · fine · pitcher

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — to come from
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. hand — help
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. field — a subject
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. hand — in cards
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. press — to push

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