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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: press · bark · field · row · march · mine · present · jam

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — farmland
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. row — a line
  6. field — a subject
  7. present — a gift
  8. press — to push
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mine — for digging
  14. present — the time now
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. row — to paddle
  17. present — there
  18. march — the month
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. field — for sport
  23. bark — to shout
  24. march — 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