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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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. jam — a tight spot
  4. object — to protest
  5. net — in sport
  6. land — to come down
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bulb — for light
  9. land — a country
  10. bulb — for light
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. land — ground
  14. press — a publisher
  15. object — an aim
  16. saw — the tool
  17. ball — a dance
  18. press — newspapers
  19. ball — a great time
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. net — for catching
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. object — a thing

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