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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 · sharp · foot · field · face · swing · bound · bat

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. field — for sport
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. foot — a measure
  9. sharp — clever
  10. face — to confront
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. face — part of the head
  14. swing — to play on
  15. press — a publisher
  16. field — farmland
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. bound — certain
  19. swing — music
  20. face — to point toward
  21. press — to push
  22. bound — tied together
  23. field — a subject
  24. bound — obliged

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