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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — in sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pound — a weight
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fall — the season
  10. press — to push
  11. press — a publisher
  12. field — farmland
  13. net — after costs
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. rest — what's left
  19. press — newspapers
  20. march — the month
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. rest — a break
  23. field — for sport
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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