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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: bear · court · press · field · arm · straw · rest · bass

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. field — a subject
  3. rest — a break
  4. press — a publisher
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — low music
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. bear — the animal
  12. court — of law
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rest — what's left
  16. field — for sport
  17. press — to push
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bass — the fish
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bear — the animal
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. field — farmland

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