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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: row · bass · press · present · field · pound · net · hand

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. field — for sport
  7. row — to paddle
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. net — in sport
  10. bass — low music
  11. field — farmland
  12. press — a publisher
  13. present — there
  14. press — newspapers
  15. present — the time now
  16. press — to push
  17. hand — help
  18. bass — the fish
  19. present — a gift
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. row — a line
  22. field — a subject
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. hand — in cards

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