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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: club · press · calf · ball · cue · bat

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. ball — a dance
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. press — a publisher
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bat — the animal
  8. club — a group
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — a signal
  12. press — newspapers
  13. cue — for pool
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. ball — a great time
  17. club — for golf
  18. calf — of the leg

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