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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: press · spring · stand · bat · field · root · wax · coach

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. root — the cause
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bat — the animal
  6. press — a publisher
  7. field — for sport
  8. spring — of water
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. wax — to grow
  14. press — to push
  15. stand — to bear
  16. root — of a word
  17. field — a subject
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. spring — the season
  24. field — farmland

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