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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: present · field · stick · land · pop · press · spell · nail

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. present — a gift
  3. press — to push
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pop — music
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. spell — a short time
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. pop — soda
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. present — the time now
  13. spell — letters
  14. land — to come down
  15. press — newspapers
  16. land — ground
  17. spell — magic
  18. field — farmland
  19. pop — to visit
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. press — a publisher
  22. field — a subject
  23. present — there
  24. land — a country

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