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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. perch — the fish
  3. plane — a tool
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. net — for catching
  7. firm — a company
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. press — to push
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. press — a publisher
  13. net — in sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. firm — steady
  20. fine — all right
  21. fine — high quality
  22. press — newspapers
  23. firm — decided
  24. fine — a penalty

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