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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 · kick · coach · mouse · jam · mine · current · field

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. press — to push
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. field — a subject
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. press — a publisher
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mine — for digging
  18. current — of water
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. press — newspapers
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — electric

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