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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: field · content · stick · tear · craft · press · file · rush

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. file — a line of people
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. rush — hurry
  6. press — newspapers
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. content — happy
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. press — a publisher
  11. file — a document
  12. press — to push
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. tear — from crying
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. file — a tool
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. content — the amount
  20. tear — to rip
  21. craft — boats
  22. craft — a skill
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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