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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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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: tear · bank · field · face · bowl · net · chip · press

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. net — after costs
  5. tear — from crying
  6. press — a publisher
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. field — for sport
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bank — for money
  12. chip — to eat
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. face — to confront
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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