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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. net — after costs
  3. press — a publisher
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — a video
  8. net — in sport
  9. mug — a face
  10. fall — the season
  11. field — a subject
  12. file — a document
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. file — a tool
  15. clip — for paper
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. file — a line of people
  20. fall — to drop
  21. press — to push
  22. mug — to rob
  23. press — newspapers
  24. net — for catching

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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