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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  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. net — after costs
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. file — a document
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. band — a ring
  8. bass — low music
  9. net — for catching
  10. plane — a tool
  11. press — a publisher
  12. net — in sport
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. toast — bread
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bat — the animal
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. bass — the fish
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. press — to push
  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