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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. press — to push
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. fall — to drop
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. press — a publisher
  11. lean — thin
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. season — in sport
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cold — an illness
  16. net — after costs
  17. fall — the season
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lean — to bend
  20. season — of the year
  21. fall — to drop
  22. sharp — clever
  23. press — newspapers
  24. net — in 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