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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. net — after costs
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. press — a publisher
  5. net — for catching
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. field — for sport
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. staff — employees
  13. field — a subject
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. pound — a weight
  16. net — in sport
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. press — newspapers
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. spring — the season
  21. field — farmland
  22. spring — of water
  23. fork — in a road
  24. spring — a coil

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