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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: current · saw · bat · rash · press · pitch · pound · leaves

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. current — electric
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. rash — hasty
  6. pound — a weight
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. current — of water
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. pitch — completely
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rash — a series
  19. press — newspapers
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bat — the animal
  22. press — a publisher
  23. current — happening now
  24. rash — on the skin

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