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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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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: roll · pit · press · bat · cell · wake · hand · stick

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pit — a hole
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. roll — a cake
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cell — a phone
  15. roll — a list
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. hand — help
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pit — in a race

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