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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 120 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 · staff · ground · bat · saw · hand · firm · cap

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. hand — help
  3. ground — the earth
  4. press — to push
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. staff — employees
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. ground — crushed
  9. press — a publisher
  10. firm — a company
  11. cap — a lid
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bat — the animal
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. press — newspapers
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. firm — steady
  21. hand — in cards
  22. staff — employees
  23. firm — decided
  24. ground — a position

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