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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. net — after costs
  3. press — to push
  4. net — in sport
  5. press — newspapers
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. file — a tool
  13. cell — a phone
  14. net — for catching
  15. file — a document
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. press — a publisher
  19. wake — a trail
  20. file — a line of people
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pound — a weight

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