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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bulb — for light
  7. stem — to come from
  8. press — to push
  9. net — in sport
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — completely
  12. court — of a king
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stock — goods
  16. bulb — for light
  17. stock — shares
  18. press — a publisher
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. row — a line
  21. press — newspapers
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. net — for catching

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