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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pitch · cold · cap · craft · net · pop · bark

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cap — a hat
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. craft — boats
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cap — of ice
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. pop — soda
  13. bark — to shout
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cap — a lid
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cold — an illness
  20. press — to push
  21. net — for catching
  22. cold — not warm
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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