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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: kid · leaves · mark · net · press · chair · mate · bat

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. net — in sport
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. kid — to tease
  5. net — for catching
  6. mark — a trace
  7. press — a publisher
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. net — after costs
  10. mate — to breed
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chair — a leader
  16. mark — a grade
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. kid — child
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mate — a friend
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. press — to push
  24. chair — to sit on

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