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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. net — in sport
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. swing — to play on
  5. field — for sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — for catching
  8. band — a ring
  9. field — a subject
  10. press — newspapers
  11. swing — in golf
  12. press — a publisher
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. plane — a tool
  17. field — farmland
  18. swing — music
  19. press — to push
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wake — a trail
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. band — a music group

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