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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: racket · press · bark · field · wax · pitch · face · net

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. face — part of the head
  7. press — to push
  8. face — to point toward
  9. field — for sport
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. field — a subject
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. face — to confront
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — after costs
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. press — a publisher
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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