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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: wake · bay · mine · field · net · press · temple · pop

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. field — farmland
  8. net — after costs
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. press — to push
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. field — for sport
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. press — a publisher
  20. field — a subject
  21. press — newspapers
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. net — in sport

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