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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. net — after costs
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. last — final
  5. season — in sport
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. last — to go on
  11. press — to push
  12. last — finally
  13. rash — a series
  14. net — for catching
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. press — a publisher
  17. rash — hasty
  18. deal — to handle
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. net — in sport
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. press — newspapers

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