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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
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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: board · prune · pitcher · net · stock · press · clip · ball

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. ball — a great time
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. prune — to trim
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. net — in sport
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. press — a publisher
  16. stock — goods
  17. press — newspapers
  18. ball — a dance
  19. net — after costs
  20. press — to push
  21. prune — to trim
  22. net — for catching
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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