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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 116 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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. press — a publisher
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. press — to push
  5. present — there
  6. net — for catching
  7. rest — a break
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. net — after costs
  10. present — a gift
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. rest — what's left
  13. prune — to trim
  14. file — a document
  15. prune — to trim
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. present — the time now
  19. pitch — completely
  20. file — a tool
  21. net — in sport
  22. perch — the fish
  23. press — newspapers
  24. perch — for a bird

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