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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 · jam · spring · wave · field · fall · stick · hide

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. press — a publisher
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. spring — a coil
  9. field — farmland
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. press — newspapers
  12. spring — the season
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. press — to push
  17. spring — of water
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. fall — to drop
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. fall — the season

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