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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 · field · sharp · cell · court · rush · file · staff

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a tool
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. press — to push
  6. staff — a stick
  7. sharp — clever
  8. press — newspapers
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cell — in biology
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. staff — employees
  14. field — farmland
  15. court — of law
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. cell — a phone
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. file — a line of people
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. press — a publisher
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. staff — employees

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