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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. press — to push
  3. bound — tied together
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cold — not warm
  7. net — in sport
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bound — certain
  10. bat — the animal
  11. net — for catching
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bulb — for light
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cold — an illness
  23. plane — a tool
  24. press — newspapers

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