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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: press · field · rest · stick · saw · kid · rule · court

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. kid — child
  5. field — farmland
  6. court — of law
  7. saw — the tool
  8. kid — to tease
  9. court — of a king
  10. press — to push
  11. field — for sport
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. press — a publisher
  14. rest — what's left
  15. press — newspapers
  16. rest — a break
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. rule — a law
  19. court — for sport
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rule — government
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. rest — what's left

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