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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. net — after costs
  4. hand — in cards
  5. press — a publisher
  6. net — in sport
  7. root — of a word
  8. net — for catching
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rest — what's left
  11. press — to push
  12. root — the cause
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rest — a break
  18. press — newspapers
  19. root — of a plant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — help
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rest — what's left
  24. hand — part of the body

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