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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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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: press · cell · stock · trunk · shower · current · bat · straw

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. press — newspapers
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. current — happening now
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stock — shares
  11. current — of water
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. current — electric
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — to push
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. stock — goods
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. trunk — of a car

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