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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fall — the season
  3. press — to push
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. chest — of your body
  8. foot — a measure
  9. net — for catching
  10. chest — of your body
  11. net — in sport
  12. fall — to drop
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bound — certain
  15. face — to confront
  16. bound — obliged
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. face — to point toward
  20. chest — a box
  21. bound — tied together
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. press — a publisher
  24. face — part of the head

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