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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: cell · file · toast · field · scale · hand · pitch · press

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cell — in biology
  4. hand — in cards
  5. field — a subject
  6. file — a tool
  7. scale — in music
  8. field — farmland
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. toast — bread
  12. cell — a phone
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. hand — help
  15. pitch — completely
  16. scale — size or range
  17. file — a document
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. field — for sport
  23. file — a line of people
  24. scale — for weighing

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