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

Word bank: tear · press · cap · toast · bat · net

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. toast — bread
  3. press — to push
  4. net — after costs
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cap — of ice
  9. press — newspapers
  10. tear — to rip
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. net — for catching
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. press — a publisher
  18. tear — from crying

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