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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 116 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. vault — a safe
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. net — after costs
  8. scale — in music
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. prune — to trim
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. press — to push
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. scale — size or range
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. last — to go on
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. press — newspapers
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. net — in sport
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. net — for catching

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