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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. net — in sport
  5. face — part of the head
  6. tear — to rip
  7. branch — a division
  8. tear — from crying
  9. press — to push
  10. face — to confront
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. net — for catching
  13. face — to point toward
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. press — a publisher
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. wind — moving air
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. tear — from crying
  21. shower — rain
  22. press — newspapers
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. shower — to wash

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