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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 · leaves · content · ball · lie · bat · stock · swing

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. swing — in golf
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. stock — goods
  7. ball — a great time
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. content — happy
  10. press — a publisher
  11. ball — a dance
  12. lie — to recline
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — music
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. press — newspapers
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. press — to push
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bat — the animal
  24. content — the amount

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