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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 120 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: field · content · fall · press · object · kid · mine · land

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. land — a country
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fall — the season
  5. press — newspapers
  6. field — a subject
  7. content — the amount
  8. fall — to drop
  9. press — to push
  10. field — for sport
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. land — ground
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — a thing
  15. kid — child
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. field — farmland
  18. press — a publisher
  19. content — happy
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mine — for digging
  22. land — to come down
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. kid — to tease

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