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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 · scale · stick · fine · net · branch · cue · game

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cue — a hint
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. net — in sport
  5. cue — for pool
  6. net — for catching
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. press — newspapers
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fine — high quality
  12. scale — in music
  13. press — to push
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. press — a publisher
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. branch — a division
  21. scale — size or range
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cue — a signal

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