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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.

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 · net · key · game · can · fan · field · chest

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. key — the most important part
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. net — after costs
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. key — in music
  8. net — for catching
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. field — for sport
  15. key — for a lock
  16. can — a tin
  17. chest — of your body
  18. net — in sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. press — newspapers
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. press — a publisher
  24. chest — a box

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