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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 124 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a great time
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. current — happening now
  10. chest — a box
  11. current — electric
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. current — of water
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — a lid
  18. kick — in football
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. press — newspapers
  24. chest — of your body

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