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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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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fall — the season
  5. race — a contest
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — in sport
  9. press — newspapers
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mine — for digging
  13. board — a committee
  14. press — to push
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. net — for catching
  18. race — humankind
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. board — to get on
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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