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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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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: press · tear · game · stem · staff · bass · field · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. press — newspapers
  3. tear — from crying
  4. game — a match
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. field — for sport
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. staff — a stick
  11. field — farmland
  12. press — a publisher
  13. bass — the fish
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bass — low music
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. press — to push
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. tear — to rip
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stem — to come from
  22. field — a subject
  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