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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. net — after costs
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. net — in sport
  9. game — wild animals
  10. net — for catching
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. board — to get on
  13. game — a match
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. dip — to sink
  16. press — newspapers
  17. pitch — completely
  18. press — to push

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