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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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468
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: lash · bore · field · mine · bank · swing · perch · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bore — to tire
  3. swing — to play on
  4. field — farmland
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bank — of a river
  7. swing — music
  8. bank — for money
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bore — to drill
  11. field — for sport
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. swing — in golf
  15. press — a publisher
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bank — for money
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. mine — for digging
  20. press — newspapers
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. field — a subject

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