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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: firm · press · wave · field · last · net · wake · lean

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. lean — to bend
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. field — a subject
  8. firm — decided
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. press — newspapers
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. firm — steady
  14. last — to go on
  15. firm — a company
  16. last — final
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. lean — thin
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. net — after costs

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