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

Word bank: wind · press · club · lean · net · pit

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. club — a group
  8. lean — thin
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — for dancing
  12. press — newspapers
  13. net — for catching
  14. pit — in a race
  15. press — a publisher
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. press — to push
  18. pit — a hole

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