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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. season — of the year
  3. staff — a stick
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. swing — to play on
  6. press — newspapers
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. press — to push
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. mark — a grade
  15. swing — in golf
  16. mine — for digging
  17. swing — music
  18. staff — employees
  19. press — a publisher
  20. season — in sport
  21. staff — employees
  22. rush — hurry
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mark — a trace

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