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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pound · press · bore · arm · march · can · face

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. face — to confront
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. march — music
  7. net — for catching
  8. march — the month
  9. press — a publisher
  10. face — part of the head
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. can — a tin
  13. pound — a weight
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. can — a tin
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bore — to drill
  18. face — to point toward
  19. net — in sport
  20. can — to be able to
  21. net — after costs
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to tire
  24. march — the month

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