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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: pitch · clip · stem · cell · racket · mouse · press · bat

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. press — a publisher
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. press — newspapers
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cell — in biology
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cell — a phone
  20. press — to push
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pitch — completely
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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