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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: court · bat · stem · press · wind · net · bass · row

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. net — in sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. row — a line
  5. row — to paddle
  6. stem — to come from
  7. net — for catching
  8. press — newspapers
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. press — a publisher
  11. court — of law
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. court — for sport
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bat — the animal
  18. press — to push
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. net — after costs
  21. bass — low music
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bass — the fish

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