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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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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: stick · perch · press · mark · net · club · cell · chair

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mark — a grade
  4. cell — in biology
  5. club — for golf
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. chair — a leader
  12. club — for dancing
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. press — a publisher
  15. perch — the fish
  16. mark — a trace
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. cell — a phone
  20. net — for catching
  21. press — newspapers
  22. club — a group
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. perch — for a bird

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