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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: field · press · lie · date · rash · net · squash · bulb

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. net — after costs
  3. field — for sport
  4. press — to push
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bulb — for light
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. net — in sport
  10. press — a publisher
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rash — a series
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. press — newspapers
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. field — a subject
  17. lie — to recline
  18. field — farmland
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. rash — hasty
  22. date — the fruit
  23. squash — the sport
  24. net — for catching

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