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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: bay · field · temple · clip · press · bear · prune · net

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. press — to push
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. net — in sport
  5. press — a publisher
  6. field — a subject
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bear — the animal
  13. net — after costs
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. field — farmland
  17. clip — to cut
  18. field — for sport
  19. press — newspapers
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bear — the animal
  22. clip — a video
  23. net — for catching
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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