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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. net — after costs
  3. pop — to visit
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — humankind
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. press — a publisher
  8. net — for catching
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. net — in sport
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. press — newspapers
  13. fork — in a road
  14. pitch — completely
  15. dip — to sink
  16. race — the arms race
  17. press — to push
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pop — soda
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. mine — for digging
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. pop — music

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