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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: net · press · ground · race · date · kid · wake · staff

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. kid — child
  3. net — after costs
  4. staff — a stick
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. press — a publisher
  7. kid — to tease
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. staff — employees
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. ground — a position
  12. press — to push
  13. race — the arms race
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wake — a trail
  16. race — humankind
  17. net — for catching
  18. date — the fruit
  19. staff — employees
  20. ground — crushed
  21. net — in sport
  22. race — a contest
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. ground — the earth

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