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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: press · march · calf · last · date · net · kick · band

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. band — a music group
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. net — in sport
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. press — to push
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. last — final
  10. net — for catching
  11. band — a ring
  12. march — music
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. march — the month
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. march — the month
  18. net — after costs
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. kick — in football
  23. press — newspapers
  24. date — the fruit

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