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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: straw · stock · drill · perch · pitcher · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stock — goods
  4. drill — army training
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. drill — a practice
  11. press — to push
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stock — shares
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. drill — the tool
  18. perch — the fish

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