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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: press · net · sharp · leaves · cold · present · squash · mark

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. squash — the sport
  5. net — in sport
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. squash — to crush
  8. sharp — clever
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. mark — a trace
  13. press — a publisher
  14. mark — a grade
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. press — newspapers
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. cold — an illness
  19. present — the time now
  20. press — to push
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. present — a gift
  24. leaves — to go away

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