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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 120 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: net · press · sharp · present · hand · perch · content · cabinet

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. content — happy
  4. sharp — clever
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. net — for catching
  7. press — a publisher
  8. hand — in cards
  9. net — in sport
  10. hand — help
  11. net — after costs
  12. present — there
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. press — newspapers
  16. present — the time now
  17. content — the amount
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. present — a gift
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. press — to push
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. perch — the fish
  24. cabinet — ministers

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