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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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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 · bat · plane · kick · perch · stick · jam

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. perch — the fish
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. field — for sport
  10. kick — in football
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. field — a subject
  14. press — a publisher
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. press — to push
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. jam — a tight spot

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