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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: net · march · can · hand · ground · wave · press · face

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. face — to point toward
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. march — music
  5. ground — crushed
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. can — to be able to
  9. hand — in cards
  10. press — newspapers
  11. ground — a position
  12. march — the month
  13. face — part of the head
  14. net — after costs
  15. press — a publisher
  16. face — to confront
  17. hand — help
  18. net — for catching
  19. can — a tin
  20. ground — the earth
  21. press — to push
  22. can — a tin
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. net — in sport

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