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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. cell — a phone
  3. hand — in cards
  4. march — music
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — after costs
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. date — the fruit
  12. press — a publisher
  13. march — the month
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. cell — in biology
  21. march — the month
  22. bank — of a river
  23. net — in sport
  24. bank — for money

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