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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: net · stem · field · press · mine · stick · court · kid

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. net — in sport
  3. press — newspapers
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — for catching
  6. press — a publisher
  7. field — farmland
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. field — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. field — a subject
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. mine — for digging
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. court — for sport
  22. press — to push
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mine — an explosive

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