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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: pit · bowl · roll · last · bat · press · plane · current

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — a list
  3. last — final
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. press — a publisher
  7. current — happening now
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. last — finally
  10. current — of water
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. last — to go on
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. current — electric
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. press — newspapers
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. press — to push
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bat — for baseball

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