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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
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: rock · mine · wound · perch · field · press · stem · suit

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. field — a subject
  4. rock — music
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. press — a publisher
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. suit — clothes
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. suit — in cards
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. stem — to come from
  13. press — newspapers
  14. rock — a stone
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mine — for digging
  19. field — farmland
  20. suit — to fit
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. field — for sport

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