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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
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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: land · craft · press · bat · net · chest · plane · charge

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. chest — a box
  3. plane — a tool
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. press — to push
  6. net — for catching
  7. craft — boats
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. charge — electricity
  10. bat — the animal
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. craft — a skill
  14. charge — in control
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. chest — of your body
  17. land — ground
  18. charge — a price
  19. land — to come down
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. land — a country
  23. net — in sport
  24. chest — of your body

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