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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. press — newspapers
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. net — for catching
  8. tear — to rip
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. press — to push
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. tear — from crying
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. press — a publisher
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. net — in sport
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. arm — part of the body

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