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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. current — electric
  4. rest — what's left
  5. press — newspapers
  6. current — of water
  7. current — happening now
  8. field — farmland
  9. rock — music
  10. press — a publisher
  11. clip — to cut
  12. field — a subject
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. net — in sport
  18. clip — a video
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. field — for sport
  21. sharp — clever
  22. rock — a stone
  23. clip — for paper
  24. press — to push

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