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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: march · net · file · pitcher · press · stick · wake · lean

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. file — a document
  5. march — the month
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. net — for catching
  8. march — the month
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. net — after costs
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. file — a tool
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. lean — to bend
  16. net — in sport
  17. press — a publisher
  18. file — a line of people
  19. march — music
  20. press — to push
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. lean — thin
  23. wake — a trail
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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