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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: court · perch · net · hide · bat · press · fall · stem

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. court — of a king
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. court — of law
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. court — for sport
  13. fall — the season
  14. perch — the fish
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — to push
  19. press — a publisher
  20. net — after costs
  21. fall — to drop
  22. stem — to come from
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — in sport

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