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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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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: pitcher · field · lean · bear · press · stick · bat · mug

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. bear — the animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mug — a face
  5. bear — the animal
  6. field — a subject
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. field — for sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. field — farmland
  18. lean — to bend
  19. press — newspapers
  20. mug — a cup
  21. press — to push
  22. mug — to rob
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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