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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · ground · fork · march · pitcher · net

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. press — to push
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. net — in sport
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. march — the month
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fork — in a road
  18. march — the month

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