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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 116 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: net · field · press · racket · wind · lie · season · snap

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. season — of the year
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. field — for sport
  8. press — newspapers
  9. field — a subject
  10. season — in sport
  11. press — to push
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. press — a publisher
  14. wind — moving air
  15. net — in sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to click
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. net — for catching

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