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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: band · hand · sharp · lean · ground · press · net · rule

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. press — a publisher
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rule — government
  7. press — to push
  8. ground — a position
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rule — a law
  13. net — for catching
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. net — after costs
  17. press — newspapers
  18. band — a ring
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. hand — help
  21. lean — to bend
  22. ground — crushed
  23. sharp — clever
  24. ground — the earth

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