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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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: racket · cell · field · press · current · present · stock · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. stock — goods
  3. current — electric
  4. press — a publisher
  5. field — a subject
  6. current — happening now
  7. present — a gift
  8. current — of water
  9. press — newspapers
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cell — a phone
  12. present — the time now
  13. row — a line
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. field — farmland
  16. cell — in biology
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. present — there
  20. press — to push
  21. stock — shares
  22. row — to paddle
  23. field — for sport
  24. cell — in a prison

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