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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 116 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 · bat · field · game · craft · scale · net · wave

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. net — for catching
  3. field — a subject
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. press — to push
  7. scale — in music
  8. craft — boats
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. press — a publisher
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. net — after costs
  15. field — for sport
  16. craft — a skill
  17. field — farmland
  18. bat — the animal
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. net — in sport
  24. scale — for weighing

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