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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: nail · pit · tear · row · press · jam · field · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. field — a subject
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — to push
  5. field — farmland
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. field — for sport
  8. row — a line
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. tear — to rip
  12. can — a tin
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. press — a publisher
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. tear — from crying
  17. can — a tin
  18. press — newspapers
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. pit — a hole
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. pit — in a race
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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