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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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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 · field · firm · wake · ball · bat · net · lash

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. net — after costs
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wake — a trail
  5. press — to push
  6. field — for sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. press — a publisher
  10. firm — a company
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. field — a subject
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. firm — steady
  17. ball — a dance
  18. firm — decided
  19. press — newspapers
  20. net — in sport
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. field — farmland
  24. wake — before a funeral

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