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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: bear · press · tube · wind · firm · pitch · field · straw

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bear — the animal
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. press — to push
  6. field — a subject
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. tube — a container
  9. wind — moving air
  10. field — farmland
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bear — the animal
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. press — a publisher
  17. firm — a company
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — decided
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. press — newspapers
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. pitch — completely

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