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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. staff — employees
  3. march — music
  4. hand — help
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — a publisher
  7. hand — in cards
  8. net — for catching
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mark — a trace
  11. press — to push
  12. bass — the fish
  13. mark — a grade
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. staff — employees
  16. bass — low music
  17. net — after costs
  18. march — the month
  19. game — a match
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. march — the month
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bass — the instrument

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