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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.

Make a worksheet

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: temple · key · field · fine · press · cold · net · march

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fine — high quality
  3. march — the month
  4. key — the most important part
  5. march — the month
  6. field — farmland
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. press — to push
  10. march — music
  11. net — in sport
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. field — for sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fine — all right
  18. press — newspapers
  19. field — a subject
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. cold — an illness
  22. press — a publisher
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — in music

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