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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 120 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: bass · staff · field · sharp · bark · press · fall · season

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. staff — employees
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. field — a subject
  5. press — a publisher
  6. season — of the year
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bass — low music
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. season — in sport
  11. fall — the season
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bass — the fish
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bark — to shout
  18. press — to push
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. fall — to drop
  21. field — for sport
  22. sharp — clever
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bark — a dog's sound

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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