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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 120 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: content · scale · field · fork · lie · press · straw · pound

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. scale — size or range
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. field — a subject
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. scale — in music
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. lie — to recline
  12. field — for sport
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. field — farmland
  16. fork — in a road
  17. press — a publisher
  18. pound — a weight
  19. press — to push
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. press — newspapers

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