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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. net — after costs
  4. field — a subject
  5. press — newspapers
  6. key — in music
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. field — for sport
  10. net — in sport
  11. shower — to wash
  12. key — the most important part
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. net — for catching
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. press — a publisher
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. hand — help
  19. key — for a lock
  20. field — farmland
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. shower — rain
  24. hand — in cards

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