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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: field · press · wound · hide · rush · face · net · key

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. field — a subject
  3. net — after costs
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. key — in music
  6. field — for sport
  7. face — to confront
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. press — to push
  10. press — a publisher
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. face — part of the head
  13. net — for catching
  14. wound — an injury
  15. press — newspapers
  16. key — for a lock
  17. wound — an injury
  18. net — in sport
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. face — to point toward
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. field — farmland
  24. key — the most important part

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