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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 124 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. field — a subject
  3. net — after costs
  4. object — to protest
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bear — the animal
  7. net — in sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. file — a line of people
  11. press — to push
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. press — newspapers
  14. file — a tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. file — a document
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. field — farmland
  21. saw — the tool
  22. net — for catching
  23. press — a publisher
  24. object — a thing

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