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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 120 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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468
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: bank · pitcher · press · cell · game · net · stock · sharp

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. press — to push
  4. net — after costs
  5. bank — of a river
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. stock — goods
  11. game — a match
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. stock — shares
  14. press — newspapers
  15. cell — in biology
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. net — for catching
  18. cell — a phone
  19. game — wild animals
  20. press — a publisher
  21. sharp — clever
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — for money

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