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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 · bark · cell · stand · net · press

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cell — in biology
  3. press — a publisher
  4. club — a group
  5. net — after costs
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. net — for catching
  13. press — to push
  14. net — in sport
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bark — to shout
  17. club — for golf
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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