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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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Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. net — for catching
  3. ground — a position
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. net — after costs
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. ground — the earth
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. press — to push
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — high quality
  15. game — wild animals
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. vault — a safe
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. net — in sport
  20. press — a publisher
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. press — newspapers
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. ground — crushed

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