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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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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. net — for catching
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. track — a path
  6. capital — money
  7. track — to keep track
  8. capital — a city
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. net — after costs
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bass — the fish
  13. net — in sport
  14. key — the most important part
  15. saw — the tool
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. track — a song
  18. press — to push
  19. bass — low music
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. press — newspapers
  23. key — in music
  24. key — for a lock

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