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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. last — final
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. press — to push
  10. last — finally
  11. scale — size or range
  12. march — music
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pass — a permit
  17. last — to go on
  18. march — the month
  19. scale — in music
  20. march — the month
  21. net — after costs
  22. press — newspapers
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — to get on

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