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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mate — a friend
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. press — newspapers
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pound — a weight
  12. march — the month
  13. chest — a box
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. march — music
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. press — to push
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. press — a publisher
  23. stand — to bear
  24. march — the month

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