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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 116 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 · ball · rock · last · sharp · field · rest · saw

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. last — final
  3. rest — a break
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rest — what's left
  6. ball — a dance
  7. last — to go on
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — music
  10. rest — what's left
  11. press — a publisher
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. last — finally
  14. field — farmland
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. rock — a stone
  19. press — to push
  20. field — a subject
  21. press — newspapers
  22. field — for sport
  23. ball — a great time
  24. sharp — clever

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