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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: wake · kick · row · net · press · court · track · prune

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. net — in sport
  5. press — a publisher
  6. track — a path
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. track — a song
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. row — a line
  13. net — after costs
  14. court — for sport
  15. kick — in football
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wake — a trail
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. press — to push
  24. track — to keep track

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