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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. net — after costs
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. track — a path
  5. chest — of your body
  6. net — in sport
  7. press — newspapers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. track — a song
  11. chair — a leader
  12. press — a publisher
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. net — for catching
  15. squash — the sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chest — a box
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. chest — of your body
  24. squash — to crush

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