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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: cabinet · court · pitcher · cap · arm · press · drill · net

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. press — to push
  3. cap — of ice
  4. court — of law
  5. cap — a hat
  6. net — for catching
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. net — in sport
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. drill — army training
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. net — after costs
  16. drill — the tool
  17. press — newspapers
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. court — of a king
  21. press — a publisher
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. court — for sport
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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