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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — the month
  3. wound — an injury
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. press — to push
  6. net — after costs
  7. kid — child
  8. press — a publisher
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. march — the month
  12. chip — to eat
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — there
  16. kid — to tease
  17. net — for catching
  18. dip — to sink
  19. net — in sport
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. march — music
  22. present — the time now
  23. chip — for betting
  24. press — newspapers

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