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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. drill — army training
  6. press — a publisher
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a music group
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. drill — the tool
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. press — newspapers
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rash — hasty
  19. net — for catching
  20. press — to push
  21. net — in sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. pitch — completely
  24. squash — the sport

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