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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. fall — the season
  4. press — to push
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. roll — a list
  7. press — newspapers
  8. roll — a cake
  9. court — of law
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bark — to shout
  17. net — in sport
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. press — a publisher
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pass — a permit

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