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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. chip — for betting
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cell — a phone
  8. field — farmland
  9. lean — to bend
  10. field — a subject
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. press — to push
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. net — in sport
  16. march — music
  17. net — for catching
  18. field — for sport
  19. chip — to eat
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pitch — completely
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. net — after costs

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