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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · jam · date · press · bound · cold · kick · chair

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. field — a subject
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bound — certain
  9. field — for sport
  10. bound — obliged
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — to push
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. press — newspapers
  15. cold — not warm
  16. field — farmland
  17. cold — an illness
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. date — the fruit
  20. kick — in football
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chair — to sit on

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