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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: press · pitch · lean · date · net · pound · file · last

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. net — in sport
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. last — to go on
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pitch — completely
  9. date — the fruit
  10. last — finally
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. press — to push
  13. file — a line of people
  14. net — for catching
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pound — a weight
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. net — after costs
  21. last — final
  22. lean — to bend
  23. press — newspapers
  24. date — on the calendar

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