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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · bat · ruler · current · tear · present · press · bass

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. press — to push
  3. current — of water
  4. tear — from crying
  5. current — happening now
  6. present — the time now
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. current — electric
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. tear — from crying
  18. present — there
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. bat — the animal

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